An Unlit Flame
by clickforkolsdick
Summary: A teenager is supposed to make mistakes and live while she's young, but not in Mystic Falls. The Gilbert Family were thrust into the supernatural world head first, but Malina took the hardest fall. Used to being in her twin's shadows, a mysterious vampire has caught her eye and for some reason, she could feel herself being drawn towards the darkness. {Season 1}
1. Chapter One

_Author's Note:_

**A teenager is supposed to make mistakes and live while she's young, but that is not the case of Mystic Falls. The Gilbert Family were thrust into the supernatural world head first, but Malina took the hardest fall. Used to being in her twin's shadows, a mysterious vampire has caught her eye and for some reason, she could feel herself being drawn towards the darkness. Vampires are only the beginning of this story of doppelgangers, witches, hybrids, but one thing she can't figure out? What is she?**

_Hey everyone, as some of you know, this isn't my first Vampire Diaries Fanfiction, going on my third now. This idea came to me and i really enjoyed it. I do not own the vampire diaries, nor the characters except my OCs. (Malina Gilbert and later chapters, Onyx Lockwood, Leo Matthews, Callie and Cashton McKenna, and Maddie Cavallo)._

_Please leave your thoughts of what you think so far, and yes this will be going back to season 1 to the present season, but some changes along the way! Enjoy :)_

* * *

**_But I'm only human and I bleed when I fall down.  
I'm only human and I crash and I break down.  
Your words in my head, knives in my heart.  
You build me up and then I fall apart.  
Cause I'm only human._**

**Chapter One – Keep the Past **

Dear Diary,

Junior Year. A year ago, this day would have been so surreal. I'm almost done high school, this was my year to succeed. Get perfect grades. Get into the college of my dreams. Tyler and I were supposed to go to Yale together. But everything has changed.

Junior Year. I would rather go back to sleep and never wake up. I don't mean that as a suicide note – heck, maybe I do. I don't know the difference anymore. I feel numb, my body, my mind. As though, I'm in a constant struggle of remembering how to feel.

Things will be different this year. Not just my hair color or my attitude. My outlook on life. I know how fragile a human life is now. I know how badly things can turn in an instant. I know what life has to offer and nothing can come to a shock to me anymore.

This is my year to pick up my fallen pieces.

* * *

There was a sudden pang of knocks being pounded on my door. I shut my journal, sliding my freshly painted black nails across the cover. I pushed myself off of my bed, "We have school in ten minutes. I swear to God, if you're not rea-" I opened the door to a surprised Elena on the other side. "Oh," She pulled her hand away from my now-present open door, "You're ready."

I rolled my eyes and shook out my wet hair, "Minus my hair. Yes, I am."

She pulled on a piece of my newly dyed hair, inspected the ends that were now a pale blonde compared to my natural brown that matched her own. "Did you dye your hair? When the hell did you do that?"

"Last night," I slapped her hand away. "I needed a change."

She gave me a weak smile, trying to be the strong one in the family. I saw Jeremy's door open across the hall and he peaked his head out, "Good morning, Jer." He looked over towards us before looking down towards the ground quickly and stepping into the bathroom. "Jenna is making breakfast, so come down when you're ready. Alright, Mal?"

I nodded my head quickly, trying to close my door as quickly as possible and avoid any more of this conversation. "I will, I will."

I watched as she stepped away, before shutting my door behind her and turning around. I walked over to my phone and picked it up, I have over a hundred text messages that haven't been opened. I never felt like sitting down and sorting through things. I haven't spoken to anyone, minus family members since the middle of June. School ended and I disappeared.

Caroline and Bonnie came over a few times throughout the summer, hanging out with Elena. They asked to see me, but I couldn't find the courage to face them. Elena and Matt broke up, I was there for her throughout it. He seemed devastated. He left me a few texts and missed calls.

Tyler has left over fifty calls and twenty different voice mails. I've listened to him, begging for me to call him back. Texts asking if he could come over. Angry, drunk messages once August came around telling me that he didn't deserve this. Which was true. He didn't deserve this.

My phone vibrated in my hand as I was holding it and I jumped abruptly, accidently answering the phone call. "Malina?" I heard the voice call and I swallowed hard. _Shit._ I held the phone up to my ear and took a deep breath, "I know you're there."

I cleared my throat, "Ty."

"Come outside," He ordered and I rubbed the back of my neck with my hand. "Please, come outside and talk to me. I can't keep doing this, Mali."

I forced my eyes shut and clenched my jaw, I had to do this. I had to face him. He deserved that much. I took a step forward, before my mind caught up to what was happening. I walked out the door and down the stairs. "I'll be right out," I mumbled into the phone. I opened the front door and he was standing on the porch. His hair was shorter, but he looked like he hasn't slept in days. His eyes were blood-shot, his cheeks were rosy. I stuffed my phone back into my pocket, "Hey."

He exhaled before pulling me into a hug, but I just stood there, keeping my arms at my sides. "I missed you so much, you disappeared on me this summer. Why didn't you answer my calls?" He pulled away from me and scanned over my face with his eyes. He looked like he was searching for something.

I opened my mouth to speak, but no words came out. Everything that used to seem so simple felt all that much more complicated. Tyler was standing directly in front of me for the first time in months and I felt no need to kiss him, touch him. I felt millions of worlds away from a boy who was two feet away.

"Talk to me," He pleaded.

"I don't know what you want me to say."

He shook his head, his eyes shifted from relieved to see, to angry and confused on why this is our first encounter in weeks. "How about we start with why the hell you couldn't pick up a phone and tell me you were okay?"

I laughed in his face and it sounded haunted. "Because I'm not. Okay, Tyler? Is that what you wanted to hear from me, why you came here this morning? I'm not okay. I haven't been okay in months. I don't know why you even came over."

He took a step forward, but with his advance, I backed up. "Malina, you know that I'm here for you. I'll always be here for you, no matter what. I just want you to talk to me, tell me everything like we used to. I feel like we aren't even together anymore."

"Maybe we shouldn't be."

The look on his face almost broke me. He looked disoriented. Pain and suffering washed over him and he shook his head. He stepped towards me, but I stood my ground. His fingers grazed along my cheek, "You don't really mean that."

I pulled his hand away from my cheek before letting go, "I think it would be best if you left."

"Mal," He whispered.

I let out a deep breath before turning around and stepping into my house, closing the door behind me. Leaving Tyler on the other side. Leaving our relationship that was the most treasured part of my life. I didn't want our relationship to be a cord waiting to be severed.

Elena turned the corner and noticed that my head was still leaning against the cool wood that had a breeze filling the cracks from outside. "Are you okay?" She asked and I rolled my eyes. _People have to stop asking me that because they don't really want to know the truth. They want you to say that you are, to lie, just so their lives could move along. So it looks like they really do care, when they couldn't care less._

I spun around, keeping my balance against the frame of the door. I forced a smile and took in her appearance. Her perfectly straight hair and light make-up. Her outfit secured and fit perfectly, red shirt with a low neck and a simple pair of jeans. Her life was completely in one piece, whereas, mine was spiraling off the edges.

Storming past her, I ran up the stairs and into my room. Rummaging through my clothes I found a black tank top and pair of black jeans and pulled them both on. I found a black blazer and put that on as well as a matching pair of wedged boots. I dried my hair before curling it into loose waves and pulling my bangs back off of my face. I put on dark eye shadow and red lipstick before finishing the rest of my daily routine make-up.

I'm not going to be second best to Elena Gilbert.

She may be my twin sister and we look identical, but we are different. We are two sides of the same coin and this year, we would be known as two separate people. No more "Elena and Malina Gilbert". I don't want to be remembered only as her sister. I want to be remembered for myself.

Once I was finished, I walked downstairs and into the kitchen. Elena was making herself a cup of coffee and Jenna was looking through the refrigerator. Aunt Jenna looked up and smiled, but once she noticed my appearance, her eyes went wide. "Malina," She muttered and Elena turned around suddenly, wearing the same expression as Jenna.

"Ooh coffee, thanks," Jeremy grabbed Elena's cup of coffee out of her hands when he entered the room. He looked towards me and he jerked his head back, "Wow. Malina, you look different. It suits you," He grinned widely.

I let out a light breath, "Thanks Jer."

Jenna started looking through her purse and pulled out some money, "It's your first day of school and I am totally unprepared." She turned around and held out her hand, "Lunch money?" Elena and I shook our heads, but Jeremy snatched it out of her hand. "What else am I forgetting?"

Elena cleared her throat, "Don't you have a meeting this morning?"

Jenna looked at the time and her eyes went wide. Elena shook her head, "Go! We'll be fine." Jenna gave us all a small smile before pulling her hair out of her ponytail and rushing out of the door. Elena turned and looked up at Jeremy, "You okay?"

He rolled his eyes and walked out of the room, "You have got to stop asking people that." A beep came from out front, signaling that Bonnie was out there waiting for us. Elena picked up her bag, but I lingered back. She turned around confused, "I think Ty is going to meet me here and we're gonna walk together. I could use the fresh air, plus we have to talk."

"Are you two doing okay?"

I gave her a smirked, "Just peachy." Another beep came from outside from a very impatient Bonnie Bennett. I pushed her shoulder lightly, "Go! Before Bonnie has a heart attack from being late. I'll meet you at your locker later."

She nodded her head, "Good luck on your talk with Tyler."

I let out a short breath, "Thanks."

Once she left and Jeremy was long gone, I decided that I should probably start walking to school. I locked the door behind me and stepped outside, it was finally cooling down. This summer's heat was a lot worse than previous years.

The walk to school was quick. I passed the Grill, people were staring as if they were looking at a ghost. That's how I felt most of the time, invisible. I turned the corner and someone ran straight into me. I stumbled backwards, but he caught me in his arms. I looked up and met a pair of green eyes staring back towards me. "I'm so sorry," I mumbled, regaining my balance and his grip faded away. "I wasn't looking, I am such a klutz."

He laughed lightly, his perfectly straight teeth shining in the sunlight. He was gorgeous. I've never seen a man as beautiful as him. He's a man that you would never forget. Emerald green eyes that shone in the light, giving off a vibrant and alluring stare. His hair was short, but tousled to one side – perfectly messy.

I caught myself staring and shook my head, "I'm Malina."

He smiled, "Stefan Salvatore."

I smiled towards the ground before looking back up towards him through my lashes, "Well it was nice meeting you, Stefan. I hope to see you around sometime?" He agreed and I walked past him. Once I was far enough away, I peaked over my shoulder and his eyes were still glued to me.

I made it to school in a matter of minutes after my encounter with the infamous, Stefan Salvatore. I'd be lying if I said that he hasn't left my mind. He was what everyone seemed to be looking for in a man. Tall, gorgeous, low voice. Perfection.

From down the hall, I could see all my friends standing by Elena's locker. Caroline was hugging Elena and Bonnie was standing against her locker. Caroline finished talking to them and turned around to leave when she saw me. "Malina, oh my God!" Her jaw dropped taking in my new appearance. She ran towards me, engulfing me into a tight and warm hug. "You look fabulous."

I pulled away from her laughing, "Thank you, Care. You look great today too," I scanned her from head to toe. We were wearing complete opposite clothes, but that's how our friendship was. We were polar opposites which is why we got along so well. Elena, Bonnie, Caroline, and I have been friends since we were little girls. Elena and Bonnie were closer, where I was better friends with Caroline.

"How have you been? I don't want to pester, but I haven't talked to you all summer. You disappeared on me," She pouted and I patted her cheek with my hand before we descended down the hallway. "Tell me everything."

I sighed, "There's nothing really to tell." We walked towards the doors and were going to stand outside by the Smoker's Pit to talk. "I stayed locked up in my room the entire time. Trying to grieve. I dyed my hair last night, decided I needed a change."

She looked at my attire one last time, "It suits you."

I smiled as we stepped outside of the building, but my smile shortly demolished from my face. I looked across the schoolyard and Jeremy was gathered with a kissing couple. Tyler and Vicki. I stopped walking dead in my tracks and Caroline ran straight into me. Her mouth dropped when she noticed what was happening, "Is that-"

"Tyler."

I swallowed hard and turned away quickly, Care hugged me tightly. This was the first time since the night of my parent's death that I appreciated a hug. Every single hug that I endured since May 23, 2009 has seemed forced and fake.

She pulled away and combed her hand through the back of my hair, "Do you want to get out of here?"

Malina let her eyes wander towards Tyler again. They were no longer kissing, but the look on his face. He looked vengeful and angry. He slumped his arm around Vicki's shoulder and smirked towards me. "I broke up with Tyler this morning. I didn't want to make him be committed into a relationship that I couldn't contribute to. I felt so alone but I didn't want anyone's company. Care, I don't know to do."

She grabbed me by the shoulders and I placed my head in the crook of her neck and she ushered us back inside the building. My breath was heavy and I could feel tears rimming my eyes, but I didn't allow them to fall. I held back the tears that were threatening to run down my cheeks.

After class, I ran into Jeremy in the hallway. I crossed my arms and bumped into his shoulder lightly with my own and he turned to look down towards me. "Hey Mal," He chimed and I gave him a small smirk. "How was your first day of junior year?"

I chuckled, "Minus all the times I wanted to gauge my eyes out when someone asked how I was doing, pretty well. How about you, airhead?" He laughed at the name calling and closed his locker before we started walking down the hallway.

"Elena jumped me in the bathroom this morning when I was high. That was a nightmare." I nodded my head and stared up at him, "She doesn't understand how hard it is for me. To fit into this school with the meat heads, I'm not like that."

We walked outside of the school building and stopped on the steps, "Got any weed left that you would care to share?" He gave me a look, raising his eyebrows as if I should already know the answer. "Good because I need something to get this edge off."

"Hey Malina!" I heard someone call my name from behind me. I turned around to find Matt walking out of the school doors and jogging to catch up to me. He pulled me into a tight hug and I relentlessly hugged him back. "I missed you this summer, are you doing any better?"

I shrugged my shoulders and Jeremy excused himself when Vicki walked outside. I kept my eyes on him as he walked over towards her and she sighed before talking to him. He followed her around like a lost puppy. I focused my attention back towards Matt, "I guess so. I mean, that's what I've been telling everyone," I answered truthfully. Matt has been my best friend for years, I was the one who basically got him and Elena together.

He nodded his head slowly, "You know I'm here for you. To talk and listen, I have two shoulders for you to cry on. You know, in case the other one gets wet." I chuckled at his comment and looked up into his blue eyes, "It's really good to see you."

I folded my arms across my chest and staggered in my place, "You too, Matty. I feel awful for not seeing you…after everything happened with Lena."

He looked away quickly, "She needed her space, I respected that. Seems like she was hitting it off with that new kid today. Stefan Salamander or whatever the hell his name was."

I laughed hard until the muscles in my stomach were contracting and twisting, "Salvatore. And he seems nice."

He looked back down towards me and arched an eyebrow, "Yeah, if nice is now the definition of a stereotypical douche bag."

"Yo Matthew," A deep voice chanted across the field and my eyes wandered to Tyler who was running in our direction. I diverted my eyes to the ground quickly. _Speaking of stereotypical douche bags._ Once he was a few feet away, he slowed down into a slow walk. "Mali," He address me momentarily before turning back to Matt. "Back to School Party is tomorrow, told Duke we would help him set up the kegs. He's just a shitload."

Matt scratched the back of his head, "Yeah. Sounds cool."

Tyler turned towards me, "You are welcomed to stop by."

I let out a deep sigh, "I don't think so. I have something to do tomorrow night." I took a step backwards, "Thanks anyway though."

Tyler laughed darkly, "Cool Mali. Keep locking yourself away from the rest of the world, from your friends. It's what you're best at."

I felt a lump in the back of my throat and my mouth felt dry. I bit the inside of my lip before spinning around on my heel and bolting away from them and down the stairs to the Smoker's Pit to find Jeremy. Vicki was handing him a bag and he stuffed it into his jacket pocket quickly. I tugged on his arm, "Let's get out of here now."

Vicki gave me a cocky grin, "It's a shame that you couldn't keep a hold on Tyler. Now he's free and there's a long list of girls who are happy that he's finally single. So thank you for breaking up with him. Plenty of girls are in line to heal his wounds."

I expanded my arms out from my sides and rolled my eyes, "Have fun with him, Victoria."

We were sitting in the park, on a bench and I blew out a puff of smoke before handing it to Jeremy. I stared up at the sky when I felt the high rushing in. I knew this wouldn't make anything better. Worse probably. Jeremy waved his hand in front of my face, "I'm sorry. What?"

He motioned the blunt towards me so I took it, "I asked why you broke up with Ty?" I shifted uncomfortably. He cleared his throat and I pulled the blunt to my mouth, letting it tingle my lips. "Just wondering, you seemed perfect together."

I sighed, letting the smoke escape my mouth slowly. "He doesn't deserve me. He's too good for me," I explained and Jeremy chuckled. "You know he's only all over Vicki to get back at me, I think she really likes you for some odd reason."

He pushed my head and I tipped over before catching myself and laughing at him. "You're a jerk," He mumbled, shaking his head. "I'm sorry though, Mal. I know how much you care about him. Maybe you should try talking to him." I swallowed hard and handed it back to him, "Or not. Whatever you want to do. I support you."

I smiled at him, "Thanks Jer." He nodded his head, "No seriously. Thank you so much, for everything. You're one of the only people I can actually talk to, you understand me. You're the only one who knows what I was thinking all summer long. You're the one who talked me out of it."

His face stiffened and he threw the blunt on the ground, letting the wind blow the flame out. "Well yeah, I couldn't let you go through with that. I can't imagine my life without you in it." I placed my hand to my forehead and pushed my fallen bangs off my forehead. "I love you, Mali."

I stood up and he followed in pursuit and I hugged him tightly, "I love you too, Jer."

His stomach growled loudly and I chuckled and punched his arm, "I am starving. Do you want to go to the Grill and get some food?" I nodded my head, "I was supposed to meet Elena, Bon, and Care there in a half hour anyway."

We walked through the doors and he walked away immediately to find Vicki, who was grabbing a table's drinks. I saw Caroline and Bonnie already there, I walked over to them and Care smiled. "Whoa, is Malina actually out in public for the first time in months? I never thought I would see the day."

I shook my head, "Ha ha, very funny. Is Elena not here yet?" They both shrugged their shoulders, "That's weird she's never late."

Caroline shifted awkwardly and I took a notice to it. I turned around to see what she was looking at and rolled my eyes, I turned back around. Bonnie gave the two of us a confused expression. Caroline spoke up, "Do you want to stay here or should we go somewhere else?"

I shook my head, "No. He's not ruining our night."

"What's going on?" Bonnie asked and I rubbed my arm awkwardly so Caroline answered, "Her and Tyler broke up this morning and we found him kissing Vicki Donovan outside earlier. It was honestly a low blow and he is being bitter about it."

I shrugged, "He has every right to be bitter. I dumped him blindsided after not talking to him for months. He should hate me." Bonnie pulled a piece of hair behind her ear, "Well it looks like that isn't the case." I tilted my head to the side and she nodded her head to look behind me.

I turned around and Tyler was a few feet away, "Hey Mali. Care, Bon," He addressed us all individually and Matt walked up behind him, slapping his hand on his right shoulder. "I just wanted to come by and see if you wanted to play a game of pool?" He stared down at me, "For old time's sake."

I was frozen there. Caroline placed her hands on my shoulders and pushed me forward, "We would love to, Tyler." His eyes grew wide with her self-invitation before nodding his head and walking over to an empty table.

He started to rack the balls on one side and Caroline walked away to get the sticks and a couple drinks for us. I leaned against the pool table and he noticed my movement and glanced up towards me, "I wanted to apologize for what I said earlier."

I ignored his apology, "So how's Vicki doing?"

He leaned up straight and placed his hands on the table, "Are we seriously not going to talk about this?"

"I don't know what you want me to say Ty. Something is different between us."

He looked away angrily. "You know, our relationship isn't the only thing that changed around here. You dyed your hair, changed your clothes, I didn't even know you owned anything black. I don't even know who you are anymore."

I nodded my head, "Perhaps you never knew who I was."

He took a step away from the pool table and placed his hands in the air in defeat, "I'm done here." He went to turn around but hesitated before refocusing his eyes on me, "But if the old Malina decides to make an appearance sometime soon. Can you ask her to call me; because she's the girl that I fell in love with."

Caroline walked back over to the table with a pitcher of coke and a few cups in her other hand. She noticed Tyler storming out of the Grill and she furrowed her eyebrows together. "What the hell happened while I was gone? I was away for like two minutes, how did you make him that angry?"

I picked up the Q-Ball and rolled it towards the other balls, breaking them apart as hard as I could. "I'm going to get out of here," I stuffed my hands into my jean pockets and she pouted. "I'm sorry for ruining the night," I swallowed hard and walked past her. I looked up and noticed that Elena was walking in, with Stefan Salvatore following in behind her.

I walked past her and she grabbed my arm, "Where are you going? Is everything okay?"

I pulled my arm free and nodded, "Just a fight with Tyler. I'm just going to go home, watch Supernatural and curl up with some hot chocolate. I'll see you when you get home," I looked over at Stefan. "Good to see you again, Stefan."

He smiled, "As with you, Malina."

Elena gave a confused expression between the two of us but I walked away without giving her an explanation. I stepped outside and immediately wrapped my arms around myself, the cool air sent shivers down my spine. I walked down the street towards my house when I heard footsteps behind me. I turned around to see who was following me, but no one was there. I pushed a piece of hair behind my ear and faced forward to continue walking but a man was standing a few inches away.

I jumped backwards and placed my hand over my heart, trying to catch my breath. "Oh my God, you scared me."

His captivating blue eyes were locked on mine and I could feel myself being pulled into the allure of the darkness. He had a smirk tugging on the corners of his lips, making one side of his mouth look sinister. His dark hair was perfectly styled and he was dressed in all black. "I'm sorry for startling you," He apologized. His voice was dark and tempting. "I'm Damon," He held out his hand for mine, "Have we met before?"

I shook my head before taking his hand in my own and shaking his firmly. "I don't believe we have. I'm Malina Gilbert," I gave the stranger a welcoming smile and he returned one. "It's wonderful to meet you, Damon."


	2. Chapter Two

_Author's Note:_

_Thank you for all of the reviews on the story so far! I'm glad you're enjoying it. Here is Chapter Two! Things will start to pick up more soon and more characters will be introduced in the next few chapters. Please keep leaving your thoughts, I love to hear what everyone thinks!_

* * *

**_Oh, won't you stay with me?  
'Cause you're all I need.  
This ain't love, it's clear to see.  
But darling, stay with me._**

**Chapter Two – Blurred Lies**

I laughed loudly pulling the cup towards my lips and taking another sip of the piss flavored beer that was in the bottom of my cup. Sure, Duke may have provided us with a ton of kegs. But they were kegs filled with the shittiest beer I've ever tasted. It tasted like motor oil and spoiled orange juice that we were being pumped into us for entertainment.

I raised my eyebrows towards Caroline then back to the man, who was under our evaluation, "He is not an eight. Come on, his eyebrows are merging into one and trying to crawl off his face!" She smacked her hand against her forehead, embarrassed.

"He's Greek! They're supposed to be hairy, but he has the body of a Greek God. Thank you, swim team!" She wiggled her eyes suggestively, watching his muscles outline the back of his shirt.

I shook my head, "If you want to talk about Greek God's, he's on your ten o'clock." Caroline turned around the wrong way and I giggled. "Your other ten o'clock, Care!' She whipped her head around and her eyes landed on Stefan Salvatore. "Now that is a solid ten, " I took another gulp from my cup.

Stefan looked completely lost. His eyes were scanning the crowd looking for anyone that he knew, who, when it came down to it, was a total of about five people. Caroline took her moment and pranced on it. Before Stefan could make a move, Caroline was standing directly in front of him. She was very persistent when she wanted to be. "Hey! You made it," She smiled brightly and I joined her side.

Stefan looked uneasy with her clingy presence, his eyes shifted towards me then relaxed. He looked over the crowd one last time, "I did." He gave me a warm smile, "It's good to see you again, Malina. It was a shame that you left us at the Grill last night. You missed out on hearing about my entire life story."

Caroline smiled proudly for being able to pry all of the surfaced information out of him. Although, I didn't look all that impressed, "She has a tendency to do all that. She's pushy but that's why I love her," I squeezed her shoulder. "Did you come here alone, Stefan?"

He opened his mouth to answer, which I knew what it was going to be – Elena. Caroline cut him off, "Well, let's get you a drink!"

"Well I'm actually-" Caroline pushed him towards the kegs and Stefan remained quiet. "I don't really drink," He explained once we were standing next to the row of kegs. Caroline was refilling both of our cups up and pouring Stefan a cup.

I pursed my lips together and arched an eyebrow, "What seventeen year old doesn't drink nowadays? You aren't fooling me, Stefan Salvatore," I pointed my finger in his direction accusingly. I turned around to help Caroline grab all of the cups, but when we turned back around – Stefan was gone. I jerked my head back, "That son of a bitch."

Caroline groaned and I scanned my eyes to find him. He was standing with Elena, talking. "Of course, he's with Elena."

Caroline and I found Bonnie and Matt standing off to the edge of the party. I made my way towards them and Matt smiled when he saw me coming. He hugged me momentarily and said hello to Caroline, "Hey guys. Why are you all the way over here?"

Matt's eyes diverted away from the party and towards the little bridge where Stefan and Elena were standing, talking. I rolled my eyes, "I don't like him." Matt grumbled and Bonnie smacked his arm lightly, "What?" He hissed, as if he didn't just insult someone out of jealousy.

She swallowed hard, looking puzzled herself before returning to her normal, cheerful self. She looked up at Matt, "You don't even know him. You have to give him a chance. You and Elena are over, time to move on."

I tilted my head to the side, "You don't have to be so harsh, Bon."

Caroline crossed her arms, "Why does she get everyone without even trying?"

I took another sip of my drink and finished it, I backed away. "In order to partake on this conversation, I need to reboot on the booze. I'll be right back," They all nodded and went back to glaring at Stefan and Elena cunningly. I grabbed the tap and started to refill by drink when someone bumped into me, spilling their drink all down my shirt.

My mouth dropped open and I let go of the tap and backed up slowly, raising my head to look at the perpetrator. "I am so sorry," He mumbled back and met my eyes. I rolled my eyes, "Shit, Mal. I didn't see you there."

I rolled my eyes at him, "Of course." My voice shook as I said it, even though I tried to be strong. I took a deep breath before continuing my conversation, "Why would you be looking out for me?"

His jaw clenched and the moon shone off of his eyes, "Don't start this with me right now. You will not like the outcome." I laughed in his face and he grabbed my arm and pulled me off to the side. I forced my arm free and spun around on my foot angrily.

"Don't you dare pull a stunt like that again! You don't lay a single hand on me again," I pushed his chest with all of my might, but he only stumbled backwards a few inches. "Oh right, but it's okay for you to put your hands on me. Makes complete sense, Mali."

I growled, "You are an ass."

He jerked his head to the side, indicating that he already knew that. "Why don't you get back to the party? I have somewhere else to be tonight," He scanned his eyes and found Vicki standing there waiting for him.

He walked away from me and grabbed Vicki's hand before pulling her out towards the woods. Jealously was rising in me, I didn't want to admit it, but it was true. No matter how hard I tried to fight my attraction towards Tyler, it wasn't working.

I walked back over to the keg and kicked my cup to the side, raising the tap to my mouth. I started to chug the beer back and I heard everyone begin chanting around me. I pulled the tap away from my mouth and I could see Elena's shocked gaze on me. I rolled my eyes when I realized Caroline running towards me.

I stumbled towards her and she caught me in her arms, "Whoa there. I think you've had enough," She laughed trying to take my new cup off of me. I groaned and tried to keep the cup in my hand but eventually lost the battle to my persistent best friend. "What has gotten into you, Mal?"

I shrugged, "I'm trying to have fun!" I shouted the end and she jerked her head back and started laughing. "I love you, Caroline," I pulled her towards me and into a tight hug, run my hands through the back of her golden hair. Pressing my lips to the side of her head.

She pulled away from me laughing, "I'm gonna go get, Matt. I think it's about time that we get you home." I nodded my head and backed up against a wooden pillar and leaned against it to keep my balance. As she started walking away, she pointed towards me obnoxiously, "Do not move! Understand? Stay there!"

As soon as I saw that she was out of sight, I rolled off of the pillar and into the grass. I kicked off my flip flops and let my toes enjoy the damp grass from earlier that day. There was a cool breeze and a million stars illuminating the sky. I extended my hands along my side and started to walk in a straight line looking up into the night sky.

I heard branches snapping and footsteps coming towards me and I snapped my eyes in their direction. I couldn't make out any faces, only figures. Someone brushed past me, but in my drunken state, I stumbled backwards and almost fell over. A hand wrapped around my wrist and helped me regain my balance and I looked up to meet Tyler's eyes. "We've got to stop running in like this," I half giggled but he ignored me.

"Whatever, Malina."

He let go of my wrist and took a step past me but I spun around and grabbed his shoulder, halting him. "What's got you all hot and bothered, Lockwood?" I said in a sing-song voice and tilted my head to the side.

He turned around but I kept my hand on his shoulder. My head was spinning and he had about three heads. My eyes kept darting between them, not knowing where Tyler actually was. He shook his head, "We aren't having this conversation right now. You're drunk and we'll only end up fighting again. And honestly, we've reached the maximum level of arguments for the day."

I took a step forward and bit my lower lip, "I don't want to fight with you."

He turned his head away from me, so I placed my hand under his chin and pulled him towards me. He placed his hand on top of mine, but hesitated before pulling it away. His eyes stared into mine, "You are drunk, Mali. Don't do anything you'll regret because if you kiss me right now, I'm not going to be able to let you go."

I nodded my head and leaned forward, pressing my lips against his, "Then don't."

His hand found into way into the back of my hair and he pulled on it gently, lacing his fingers through a few strands. His other hand travelled down my shoulder to my hand and he pulled my hand to his chest before gliding his hand back down to my back. I relentlessly let my hands travel up his chest to his neck before cupping both sides of his jaw in my hands.

The kisses were hungry and passionate, the taste of beer still laced with every kiss. His cologne lingered off of his skin, it was the one that I had gotten him for his birthday last year. His touches grew rougher and more intense as the kiss progressed. He pushed me back against a tree and started to kiss my neck, "Ty. Stop it, we aren't having sex in the middle of the woods."

He pulled his lips from my skin, leaving it wet and marked. "Why not?"

He kissed my lips once more but I pulled away, "Because we aren't animals. We have houses, with couches and beds. We don't need to do it up against a freakin' tree." He continued to kiss my neck and down my collarbone to the crease of my blouse. "Tyler!" I pulled his face towards mine and he swallowed hard, "I said no."

He pushed himself off of the tree by his hand and rubbed the back of his neck. "You are such a tease, Mali." He wiped his mouth and took a step backwards, "Such a tease."

I laughed and took a step forward, becoming slightly more sober. "I'm the tease? Because I won't have sex with you in the woods? Are you kidding me right now, Ty?" His jaw clenched tightly and I shook my head, "What happened to the whole, "kiss me and I'm not going to let you go" speech that you gave me. Was it only to get into my pants?"

He took a step forward, "Of course not."

"Then what was it?" I yelled, "You are a liar, Tyler Lockwood, a coward and a liar. I hate you!"

"Whoa, what's going on over here?" I heard a voice ask from a few feet away. I wiped away a few stray tears that evidently were running down my cheeks. I hadn't even realized that I was crying. I didn't want to be crying. "Malina?" The boy asked and I looked over to find Jeremy, "Hey, are you okay?" He rushed over to my side and wiped away the remaining tears before turning towards Tyler. "What the hell did you do to her, dick? You couldn't leave it at Vicki, but now you attack my sister too?"

"I didn't attack her."

Jeremy stepped away from me and walked towards him, "But trying to have sex with Vicki without her consent isn't attacking right? I'll repeat myself one last time, dick." He poked him in the sternum, trying to be intimidating. "What did you do to my sister?" He annunciated every word with a spit of venom. I stepped forward and grabbed Jer's arm but he shrugged me off. "If I see you near Vicki or Malina ever again, I will kill you."

Tyler laughed, "I'd like to see you try." He took a step back but stopped himself, "And Vicki doesn't like you. She isn't very fond of fresh meat," He muttered condescendingly in his direction. Jeremy rushed forward but I caught his arm, "Jer. Jeremy, he's not worth it."

Jeremy turned around angrily, "You know, he tried to have sex with Vicki tonight a few minutes before he found you."

My jaw tightened and I looked behind Jeremy, "Is that true, Ty?" He looked away uneasily and I laughed at myself foolishly. I stepped towards him, "You made me feel like a horrible person for breaking up with you, but then you were going to have sex with someone else. But after she dumps you, you come running back to me and try to have sex with me. I'm done with this bullshit, Ty. I'm done."

He took a step forward, but I stormed past him and Jeremy followed in pursuit, bumping into him with his shoulder. I could see Caroline and Matt waiting for me at the keg stand. She sighed in relief when she saw me with Jeremy. "There you are!" She grabbed my hand and noticed my make-up was screwed up from crying. "What happened?"

I shook my head, not wanting to explain. "I'll explain another time. I just wanna go home," She bit her bottom lip and I slumped forward, "What Care?"

"Would you completely hate me if I sent Matt home with you instead?" I looked up at Matt and he gave me a warm smile and I shook my head, "Nah. He's not that bad of company."

* * *

Matt drove me home, walking me to the door and asking if I would be okay by myself. I nodded, I could be strong. I immediately sat down on the couch, turning on Netflix and pressing Supernatural. It was my go-to show whenever I'm upset. Something about Sam and Dean killing vampires and demons soothed me. Brought me back from my dark place.

After my parents died, my entire body shut down. I wouldn't eat. I couldn't sleep. I kept having nightmares – the same nightmare, over and over again. My parents drowning, Elena – my twin sister almost dying. It was my fault that it happened. Elena got uncomfortable because I told Matt to tell her how he felt. She wanted to leave. My fault.

It was Season One, their father just came back into the show. The tension between them was uneasy. I felt bad for Sam. He wanted to get out of the hunting life, but he was just being dragged back in. I understood him. I wanted out of my own life, but Jeremy dragged me back.

My phone was buzzing against the couch rapidly and I picked it up and saw Caroline's name gliding across the top. I sighed and picked it up, "Malina you need to get to the hospital right now, there was an accident or an attack-"

"Care! Caroline you need to calm down," I yelled frantically into the phone.

She took a deep breath, collecting all of her thoughts to convey this in a way that would be simpler for the both of them. "There was an attack after you went home, Matt is at the hospital right now. It was Vicki. I don't want him to be alone, but I don't know who else I would tell. You care about him."

I stood up quickly, grabbing a cardigan and slipping into a pair of shoes. "I'm going to leave now," She was silent on the other side. "Hey, Care?" She let out a quiet noise, implying that she was still listening. "If there's someone hurting people, be careful. Please, be careful."

"I will."

I smiled weakly, "I can't lose you too."

I hung up the phone and grabbed Jenna's car keys, she was sleeping by the time that I got home so she wouldn't even notice that I was gone. I pulled the door open as quickly as possible and locked the door behind me. When I turned around, there was a man standing at the end of my porch. I squinted my eyes to try to see who it was, but I could only see his silhouette.

He turned his head towards me, but I still couldn't make out any features. All I could see were piercing blue eyes, "Hello?" I called towards the man and he glanced away quickly, I turned my head towards the door. Preparing myself to run back inside and slid my house key into my grip. I swallowed hard but when I turned back around, he was gone.

I stepped off of my porch and looked around, he was nowhere. He disappeared. I couldn't understand how someone could be there one moment, but gone in the next. It was like he disintegrated into thin air. I heard a crow caw beside my ear then fly into the night's sky and I jumped backwards and shuddered.

I ran in Aunt Jenna's car's direction and clicked on the unlock button, letting it beep. I jumped in and pressed the lock down as soon as I sat down. I shoved the key into the ignition and the engine roared before I took off out of the driveway and towards the hospital.

I ran into the hospital, straight to the receptionist's desk and slammed my hands onto the counter. The petite blonde jolted up in her seat, scared. I gave her an apologetic smile before opening my mouth to question her, "Could you tell me where I could find Vicki Donovan's room?"

She looked through a stack of papers then looked back up at me, her blue eyes pale against the hospitals stale lighting. "She's in Room 215," She straightened the stack of papers and placed them down, "It's upstairs then do-" She looked up and realized I was already at the staircase. I knew that room. It was Elena's room after the accident.

I stormed up the stairs, skipping every two steps. The balls of my heels aching with the pressure behind each jump. I used the door frame as a propeller for the strength behind my turn. I ran into the room and Vicki was laying there, still unconscious. She was hooked up to wires, but her breathing was steady. Matt was sitting in the armchair, the sleeves of his maroon sweatshirts balled up in his fists.

I placed my hand on his shoulder lightly and he whipped his head around. His eyes were glossy, he had obviously been crying previous to my arrival. "Matty," I whispered and he stood up from his chair and hugged me tightly. I allowed myself to hug back, I had to be there for him. He needed to be coddled, so I would allow myself to do just that.

He held me tight to his body and ran his hand through my hair, "Thank you for coming. You don't understand how much that means to me. She's stabilized." He let go of me and I took a step back, regaining a bit of space between the two of us. "I thought she was dead, Malina. I couldn't handle it. I thought she was dead."

"Hey," I placed my hand on his cheek and forced him to opened his eyes and look at me. "She's going to be okay. She's strong. She's a fighter. She'll make it through this." He nodded his head, "Why don't you come with me. You can stay over for the night, you shouldn't be alone. And you most definitely should not sleep in this chair. It's terribly uncomfortable. I would know."

He shook his head and looked over at Vicki, "I shouldn't leave her. If she wakes up, she might need me."

I bit my bottom lip, "Do you remember after the accident when I would sleep here every single night, beside Elena. I couldn't find myself to go back home, not without my parents being there. Not sleeping in the room beside mine." He nodded his head, "Do you remember what you told me?" He sniffled, "You told me that I couldn't dwell on the past or else I would never get to move on." He breathed out his nose, "Sitting bedside with Vicki won't help her get any better. You can't coop up in a hospital chair forever."

His voice was hoarse, "I don't want her to be alone."

"And neither should you," I narrowed my eyes on his. "We will come back first thing in the morning, when visiting hours begin at 9 a.m. She probably won't wake up until around then anyway, they drugged her up with medicine."

He nodded his head and grabbed a bag from beside the leg of the chair. "I guess you're right," He let out a deep breath. "Thank you, Mali."

I smiled and grabbed his arm, pulling him out of the hospital room. He walked out before me, but I stayed back and stared at Vicki. Her neck was covered in bandages. Her face was pale and her fingers were tight and coil. For a moment, I could imagine Elena laying there. My parents on their death bed.

I let out a deep breath and stepped forward, I had to put that in the past. I caught up to Matt in a few strides and looped my right arm between his and synchronized our stepping so we matched our stride down the hallway. A few nurses glanced up from their desks, noticing me and giving small waves. I knew this ward too well. I never wanted to come back.

* * *

We were sitting at the head of my bed, leaning against the bed frame. I had the bottle of whiskey in my hand and took another swig, making a disgusted face in pursuit. Matt chuckled and I handed him the bottle and he took a sip. The room was spinning and I was way too drunk for my own gain.

We returned back to my house in a matter of minutes, when we walked in Supernatural was still playing the TV screen. I walked over to it and turned the television off and placed the remote on the table. Matt was still upset and I was still shaken up about the crow and the mysterious man outside and the encounter with Tyler. All in all, the night needed to end with consuming more alcohol.

I scooted down on the bed so I was laying on my back and staring up at my ceiling. Matt followed my lead and laid down beside me. I took a deep breath, "How did our lives end up this way? I remember when we were little kids playing in sandboxes and our entire future was mapped out for us. Things weren't supposed to be this difficult."

He turned his head so he was watching me, but I didn't take notice to his stare. I followed the indents on the tiles on the ceiling with my eyes. Tracing every crack and crevice along the surface. He cleared his throat and placed his hands folded behind his head. "I wish I had an explanation for that one. Everything seemed so simple."

I swallowed hard, "Did I make a mistake with breaking up with Tyler?" He was silent and I turned to look at him. His pools of oceans were glossy and red, making the blue stand out more prominently.

He shrugged his shoulders, "If you want the honest truth, probably not. He's having a downward spiral with my sister right now and it's best if you stay out of it." I looked away with the mention of Vicki's name. He furrowed his eyebrows, "I'm sorry that he did that to you."

"I'm sorry about what happened to her tonight. I said some pretty awful things to her yesterday and I hated her for what Tyler did to me tonight. He made me feel like such a fool. I hated her for it," He slid his eyes away from mine and cleared his throat, trying to muffle a distressed noise. She is all he has left.

He finally made eye contact with me again, "You should have hated her. If it were me, I would have hated her too."

I nodded my head and folded my arms across his chest. I probably shouldn't be having this conversation in this state of mine, especially with Tyler's best friend. But Matt was my best friend too. I chuckled under my breath, the alcohol going to my head and making up scenarios. "If Tyler was here right now, I would punch him."

Matt snorted, "He'd deserve that."

"What would you do if Elena was here?" I asked absent-mindedly, turning on my side so I could face him. His jaw clenched and he blinked a few times like he was imagining the encounter in his head. What would he do, what would he say?

Matt looked a mixture of betrayed and sorrowful. He licked his lips before looking back over towards me. He squinted his eyes and rolled onto his side, "I forgot how much you two looked alike." He laughed lightly and I nodded, he took a deep breath. "This is what I would do," He grabbed my face in his hands and kissed me hard on the mouth.

After a few moments of nipping and tugging on one another's lips, we pulled apart. I opened my eyes slowly and he tightened his jaw, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have," He mumbled and moved to stand up but I grabbed his wrist and kept him beside me.

"Sh, it's okay," He relaxed against my touch. "It's okay."

He nodded his head slowly before cupping my cheek in his hand and leaning forward, pressing his lips against mine gently. I was partaking in an action that I could honestly say that I never thought I would find myself in. Kissing Matt Donovan. The quarterback of the football team. My best friend since we were in diapers. Never had a single attraction to him, but it felt right.

My entire life, the world seemed blurry.

Until now.

_He made me feel safe_.


	3. Chapter Three

_Author's Note:_

_Thank you for all the reviews, favorites and follows so far. I'm glad you're enjoying the story! I have the next chapter written already, so once this gets some more reviews, I shall upload the next one. Enjoy chapter 3 and leave your thoughts! _

* * *

**_A falling star, least I fall alone. I can't explain what you can't explain.  
You're finding things that you didn't know, I look at you with such disdain.  
The walls start breathing, my minds unweaving; maybe it's best you leave me alone.  
A weight is lifted on this evening, I give my final blow.  
When darkness turns to light, it ends tonight._**

**Chapter Three – Truth Serum**

_I sat around the bonfire, laughing hysterically at something that Caroline just whispered in my ear. I pulled the beer bottle to my lips and took a long gulp before placing it back onto the ground. Bonnie and Elena were sitting across from us, chatting among themselves. Matt and Tyler returned shortly after, carrying two more cases of beer with them. _

_Tyler joined behind me on the ground and wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me backwards against his chest. He smelt like soap and smoke, aftershave radiating off of his skin. He kissed behind my ear playfully and I grinned widely. "You disappeared on me," I turned my head to look at him._

_He gave me a cheeky grin and I felt his hands lift the bottom of my shirt up and his cold hands began to roam my stomach. I exhaled and leaned against him, he kissed the back of my neck. "I love you," He murmured in my ear. I turned around on the blanket that was beneath us and sat on my ankles, "I love you too."_

_I felt someone throw a marshmallow and it hit my ear, I whipped around and Matt was giggling like a child. I immediately knew it was him. "Oh really, you think you can get away with that using your charm and blue eyes. I don't think so, Donovan!" Tyler kissed my cheek giggling and ran his hand down my side to the small of my back._

_He stood up quickly and started to run towards Caroline's cabin and I chased after him. Once I turned the corner, he was already waiting for me. He wrapped his arms around me and picked me up off of my feet and I let out a squeal. "Oh, stop being such a wuss."_

_He placed me on the ground and I crossed my arms across my chest, "I am not a wuss."_

_He laughed, a genuine laugh that extended to his eyes. They crinkled. "You and Tyler seemed all romantic over there," He mentioned. He raised his eyebrows and smirked knowingly, "You guys have a room to yourselves tonight. Trying to speed things up, are we?"_

_I rolled my eyes, "Don't try goading things out of me because you and Elena don't have your own room. She chose to sleep with Caroline and Bonnie, that's your problem." He rolled his eyes, as if telling me not to remind him. "It's your responsibility to talk to her about how you feel. You need to tell her."_

_He nodded, "I know I do. I just," He licked his lips, "I just don't want to scare her away."_

_"If she loves you, she'll understand."_

I jolted awake, sweat lining my forehead. My body was shaking and I wiped my clammy hands on my blanket. I haven't had that dream in a while. I tried to stop thinking about that night. I knew where that conversation lead. To Elena and Matt fighting. To Elena calling our parents to come pick her up.

…To the accident.

I ran my hand through my hair and Matt leaned up, letting the blankets fall against the mattress revealing his bare chest. I took deep breaths and he touched the small of my back softly, but I flinched away. "Malina," He whispered, "Talk to me."

I stood up, searching for some clothes. I only had my bra and underwear on, my clothes from last night seemed to miraculously disappear. I found a T-shirt laying on the ground and pulled it over my head before sitting back on the edge of the bed. "I had a nightmare," He tilted his head to the side, insisting that I explained further, "About the night my parents died."

He leaned forward, placing his hand on top of mine. "I'm sorry," He mumbled, I knew he didn't know what to say. I wasn't even sure on what I would want to hear. That it would be okay? Things would get easier with time? It's all things that I've been told before, but none of that is remotely true. The only thing that gets easier is faking a smile every single day and making others believe that I am getting better.

He slipped out from under the covers and found his clothes on my bedroom floor. I stared at him. My best friend. In my bedroom, half-naked after we just spent the night together. I stared at him for a while, he didn't even notice. He glanced over and noticed my staring and chuckled lightly, "What?"

I ran my hand through my hair, "We slept together last night."

He nodded his head as if it were obvious, because it was. We were both present as it was happening. "Yes, we did. Thank you, captain obvious."

I slapped his arm playfully, "Doesn't that seem weird to you? You had sex with your best friend. Your ex-girlfriend's not only sister, but her twin sister. Doesn't seem at all odd to you?" He shook his head, "Of course it feels weird."

He stood up and pulled me to my feet, placing his hands on either side of my face, "But it is a good weird. Every single part of it, it was good." I nodded my head and he pressed his lips against mine, "We should probably go to the hospital. It's almost 9," He said as he looked down at his watch.

He walked towards the door and opened it slightly, "You should go alone. It won't matter if I'm there, she hates me anyway. She only wants to see you. I'll see you later though," He nodded and I gave him a warm smile. I felt good. I could smile and actually mean it today. "I promise."

Matt leaned forward and pressed his lips against mine one last time before hurrying off down the hallway. I smiled and pressed my fingers to my lips, where he just kissed. I looked up and noticed Jeremy's door was open. He was sitting in his room on his laptop, but staring at me. I swallowed hard and walked into his room quickly, shutting the door behind me. I pointed in his direction, "You didn't see any of that. If this gets back to Elena, I will kill you."

He kept his eyes on mine, "Since when did you like Matt?"

I shrugged, "I don't know. We were there for each other yesterday, with everything that happened with Vicki and Tyler. He just gets me and I can talk to him about everything. We were drinking and then one thing lead to the other."

"So what? Are you together now?"

I shook my head, "No. No, no. We're not together, I don't know what we are. All I know is, I felt safe with him. Like I didn't have to be afraid or careful with what I say or do. He just gets me, you know?" He nodded, "Please keep this between the two of us."

He shut his laptop, "I will. You can trust me, Malina." I smiled at him and started to walk towards the door and I opened it, but paused when he spoke again. "I'm glad that you're happy though. I missed seeing you actually smile." I turned to look at him again, smiling wide and genuine. It felt good. I felt good.

Elena opened her door, she was wearing her simpler clothes. A green long-sleeved shirt and a pair of jeans with her worn-out converse. She noticed me grinning and she jerked her head back, "Is that a smile tugging on my sister's lips?" She tilted her head to the side laughing.

I pointed at her, "Do not ruin the moment, Lena. You might not see another one of these in a long time."

"What's got you all happy-go-upy?" She questioned, raising an eyebrow and Jeremy walked out the door. It was too early for him to be ready for school. He walked past us quickly and bounded down the staircase and out the front door after exchanging a few words with Aunt Jenna. "Finish another season of Supernatural or reread Harry Potter?"

I shook my head and was going to tell her, but then paused. If I told her that I spent the night with a guy, she would pester me for a name. I couldn't tell her that I slept with her ex-boyfriend. I couldn't make up a random name. I couldn't say anyone from school. I needed to lie. _Lie, lie, lie._

I cleared my throat and twirled a piece of my freshly dyed blonde hair around my finger. "I finished another season of Supernatural. I will never grow used to how incredible the storyline is, with the angels and demons. Lucifer and the seals to the gates of Hell," I knew if I could bore her to death than she would never ask me again. "Remember that episode when Dean keeps dying over and over again that we watched? I re-watched that one again." I started to bop my head imitating Dean and sang softly, "It's the heat of the moment."

She shook her head and patted my cheek with her hand, "And to think that you were gonna tell me you met a nice guy. Not some jerk like Tyler Lockwood, who would actually treat you right."

I gave her a warming smile, "Not everyone can find their very own Stefan Salvatore. Now can we, Elena?" Her cheeks turned a deep red color that travelled down to her neck and she pushed a piece of hair behind her ear.

Jenna stepped out of her room, all dressed up and hair curled down to her shoulders. "Where are you going?" I asked her leaning against the wall of the hallway. She fluffed her hair in the mirror and turned around to face us.

"I have Jeremy's parent-teacher conference. How do I look? Parental and steady-grounded? Like I could lay down the law if I had to?" She laughed lightly and I joined in. She pulled her hair back, "Up or down?"

Elena chimed in this time, "Sexy stewardess," She spoke as Aunt Jenna had her hair up in her hands. She let it fall to her shoulders, "Or boozy housewife."

Jenna pulled it up immediately, "Up it is. You're feisty today."

Elena leaned her head against the door frame of her room, "I feel good." She pulled her eyebrows together momentarily, "Where is Jeremy anyway?"

"He wanted to get to school early so he could finish his birdhouse for woodshop," She finished pinning her hair back in the mirror. She noticed our confused faces and dropped her hands to her side before turning around, "There's no woodshop is there." We both shook our heads in unison and watched as Jenna ran down the stairs as we waited for Bonnie to come pick us up.

* * *

At school, I was sitting on top of the bench before school started. I was sketching in my notebook. I wasn't sure what I was drawing exactly. But it wouldn't leave my head. It was a pair of eyes. They were sharp and enticing. Electricity sent shivers down my body just thinking of them.

Stefan walked past me and I called out his name to catch his attention. I placed the notebook down before jumping off of the bench and hugging Stefan tightly. He looked over towards my notebook and looked puzzled of what I was drawing. Behind the eyes was an outline of a crow. He looked as if he knew what I was drawing.

"What's wrong?" I asked, picking up the notebook and closing it shut.

He shook his head, "It's nothing. It was an interesting picture, do you mind if I look at it one more time." I shrugged my shoulders before opening back up to the picture, he took it out of my hands and mesmerized it. He started to flip through the pages, they were all the same. Those two mysterious eyes, luring and tempting. A black crow, with those eyes. A wicked smile tugging at its beak.

He stepped away, "These are beautiful drawings. Do you mind if I hold onto them for a while?"

I bit the inside of my lip, out of habit. "No problem," I gave him a smile but as he walked away I furrowed my eyebrows together. Why on earth would he want a notebook full of faceless eyes and birds that signal death?

I moved my eyes to scan along the crowd of people outside, I noticed Jeremy storming over to where Tyler was standing with two girls. He was flirting. That bastard. I began to walk over in their direction, but Jeremy was already going off of him. He pushed him backwards and then I heard him. The same threat as last night. "If I see you near Vicki again, I will kill you." Before storming off and brushing past me angrily.

Tyler whispered to those two girls before his eyes landed on me. He gave me an odd look, it was like he was trying to smile towards me until he remembered last night. Until he remembered what he said to me, what he did to me. When I called him a liar and a coward. When I told him that I hated him.

I pulled the black sweater around my hands and made them into balls and turned around. I could see Matt and Elena walking together along the sidewalk. They were talking, making little chit-chat. Elena said something to him, but Matt's movements stiffened. He turned away from Elena and started to walk away from her. He almost ran into me, but stopped right in time, I smiled up at him, "Hey."

He tried to fight past what he and Elena just talked about what made him so upset. So lost. He swallowed that all down and gave me a warm smile, "Hey Mali."

Elena stared between the two of us, lost in our trance.

* * *

After school ended, we all decided to go to the Grill. We got a small table outside and I sat on Elena's right, like I always do. Caroline sat beside me and Bonnie was in between Caroline and Elena. We were talking about the Comet tomorrow, which only passes over Mystic Falls every almost 150 years.

"Well I was talking to Grams and she said the comet is a sign of impending doom. The last time it passed over Mystic Falls, it was lost to death. So much blood and carnage, it left a bed of paranormal activity," Bonnie told us a-matter-of-factly. She was really diving into this whole "witch" thing that her Grams told her about. But I always swore that Grams was off her knocker. She was a crazed woman most of the time.

Caroline nodded her head condescending, like she believed every last word that Bonnie just enlightened us with. "And then you poured Grams another shot and she told you about aliens!" Bonnie rolled her eyes and Caroline turned to Elena. She was interrogating Elena on what happened between Stefan and Elena last night. Apparently, Stefan had come over and they talked all night. So I was screwing her ex one room over as she was talking to some new guy, getting over her ex. Moving on. "So then what?"

Elena shrugged her shoulders, "So then nothing."

"You and Stefan talked," She took a pause like her story was a huge lie, "All night?" She didn't believe it for one second. "There was no sloppy first kiss or touchy-feely of any kind?"

"Nope. We didn't go there."

I turned away quickly and stared at my chipped, black fingernails. I should tell them about Matt. Relieve my conscience. I started the day feeling good, but as it progresses – I feel more and more guilty.

"Not even a handshake?" She sat up straight and pointed between herself and Bonnie, "I mean, Elena, we are your friends! You are supposed to share your smut!"

Elena groaned, "We just talked for hours!"

Caroline was getting bored and you could see it all over her face. She had to spice things up, she had to win. She never backed down from anything and this would not be her first, "What is with the blockage?" I placed my chin in my hand, this was going to get amusing. I could hear it in Caroline's voice. She had a plan. "Just jump his bones already!"

Bonnie and I both whipped our heads in Caroline's direction. We both know she could be completely irrational, but I did not see that coming out of her mouth. Elena rolled her eyes at Care, so she continued. "Boy likes girl," She placed one hand out to the side, then followed with the next, "Girl likes boy." She closed her hands together and a grin played along her lips, "Sex." She raised her eyebrows playfully.

"Profound," Elena laughed, but then stared at the paper in her hand. She looked back up towards Caroline before gathering all of her papers from the table and standing up. Bonnie glanced up, "Where you going?"

She sighed, "Caroline is right." And with that, Caroline sat up straight and looked around confused, she knew she was right but she never thought that Elena would admit it, _ever._ "It is easy. If I sit her long enough, I'll just talk myself out of it instead of doing what I started the day saying I was going to do."

* * *

I was standing behind Caroline as she talked to fellow townspeople about the Comet. The Comet was tonight. Last night had a boring end. Elena ended up going over Stefan's, only to discover that he has a brother. And an ex-girlfriend, who he is still heartbroken over. Jeremy also got an apple thrown at his head, which was the highlight of my night.

I listened to Caroline talk about the Comet, even though I didn't want to be here. I had no reason to be here. I wanted to be at home. She managed to con me into coming, I even ditched the black clothes for the night. I was wearing a red dress with a denim jacket over top and a pair of black, wedged boots. I guess I could still dress up.

Caroline started to walk away towards someone I couldn't see. There were too many people in my way. When I caught up to her, she stopped dead in her tracks and was searching the crowd in confusion. I stopped directly behind her, I could feel someone's eyes on me. "What's wrong, Care?"

She turned around frustrated, "It was the guy from the other night. At the Grill. He was here, I saw him."

I tried to catch him with my eyes, but then I realized that I had no idea what he looked like. I wasn't there with her that night. I was with Matt. I need to tell her.

"Care, I slept with Ma-" But before I could finish the sentence, she was halfway across the lawn. I pulled my arms around my stomach and groaned before running to catch up to her. I heard a caw and I whipped my head up in that direction to find a crow. I stumbled my feet to a stop and I stared up at it. It's beady eyes were scanning the sky, but then it looked directly at me. I jumped backwards.

I walked over towards Matt with Elena, he lit her candle with his and smiled at her. "Thank you," She said smiling kindly at him.

He stared back at her longingly, he still loves her. Anyone could see it. "You're welcome," He looked like he going to say something else but she turned away and walked straight into Stefan. She looked uncomfortable and turned around to look back at Matt.

I raised an eyebrow and I lit my candle using Matt's flame, "What was that all about?"

He swallowed hard, "Do you feel guilty? Because I feel so guilty about what we did to her."

I took a step back to really get a good look at him. He looked paranoid. Fidgeting hands, tapping his foot way too fast. His eyes were scanning the floor. Sure, I was feeling guilty. But what really threw me off was the last part of his sentence. "What? We didn't do anything to her. Us sleeping together, it wasn't about Elena." He shifted uncomfortably, "Was that what it was to you, Matt?"

He looked down towards his shoes and I scoffed. I stepped away from him but he tried to grab my arm, "Malina! Malina, wait!"

I turned around harshly, yanking my arm free from his grasp. "Don't talk to me right now, Matt. I thought I knew you better than this."

As I walked away, Caroline, Bonnie, and Tyler all walked past me in their path to Matt. Towards getting their candles lit. I kept my eyes down and didn't look at any of them. I wanted to be alone. I took a deep breath and blew out the flame to my candle before dropping it onto the ground and walking away. I walked towards the Mystic Grill. Listening to the caw of the crow which was leading me into its direction.

I'm not sure how much time passed, I only know that this was going to be my sixth shot and I held it between my two fingers inspecting it. The liquid inside of it was a pale blue, but the bottom was a purplish color. I didn't even know what I was ordering anymore. Just anything to get the edge off of things. I wanted to stop feeling so guilty.

A man sat down next to me, placing his arm across the back of my seat. I ignored it. "Aren't you a little young to be drinking at the bar?" He asked me and I rolled my eyes before throwing my sixth shot down. _Oh, I was definitely feeling something._ My vision was getting blurry. My head was starting to pound, I needed more to drink. "Why don't you slow down and drink something smoother?"

He slid his glass across to me then ordered another, I took a sip of it but made a disgusted face. Bourbon. The only person that I have ever known who enjoys drinking bourbon would be my grandfather, whom – like the rest of my family – is no longer with us.

"Bourbon," I stuck out my tongue but kept drinking it. "What are you, an old man?"

He peeled the glass from my hand and placed it down, "It is meant to be sipped slowly. And you shouldn't be asking about my age, little girl." I turned my head towards him, but noticed him instantly. Those two daunting blue eyes, pulling me into his oceans. I could feel myself drowning.

I blinked a few times, trying to pull myself together. _Yeah, Malina, he's attractive. Ungodly, attractive. But pull it together already._ I shook the thoughts out of my head and refocused on him, "I know you." I pointed my finger in his face. I was drunk. "We met outside of here a few days ago, you almost ran into me."

He corrected me, "You almost ran into me. In such a hurry that you weren't even watching where you were going." He seemed amused, I could tell by the smirk that was playing on his lips. Such pink and soft lips. I shook my head again. _Pull it together, Mal._

"I think I apologized for that one," I chuckled and took another sip of the bourbon which burned my throat on the way down. "Damon, correct?" I tilted my head to the side and he nodded his head, "Do you remember my name, mystery man?"

He paused for a moment like he was reminiscing about it. I placed my chin in the palm of my hand, looking at him observantly. His hair was jet black, longer. It came down to his ears, certain pieces longer than the others. His eyes were piercing. Like they could swallow me whole. I wouldn't mind though, they drag you in and drown you just long enough to resuscitate. He had a pointed nose, not to big, not to small. Dark eyebrows which made his eyes even more mesmerizing. He smelled of cologne and leather. A hint of mint.

His voice was taunting, as though it were a game. He raised his eyebrows and I awaited his answer. He probably didn't remember me. I'm a nobody. But to hear my name roll off his tongue, it sent shivers down my spine. I craved it.

He jerked his head to the side, making me wait longer and longer. Anticipation washed over me. I needed him to say it. "I met a lot of people the past few days," My heart dropped into my stomach. I sat up straight and let out a light laugh, I was being a fool. A foolish girl. I pushed myself up from the bar and pushed my seat out. He grazed his fingers along mine intentionally. I felt a rush sending electric waves through my entire body.

I licked my lips staring at him, "I have to meet up with my friends. It was nice seeing you again, Damon." I didn't say my name, I would not repeat it. He didn't remember it once, he wouldn't remember it again. He nodded his head, I placed my money down on the counter but he shoved it back into my hands. I laughed lightly and shook my head, "I can pay for my own drinks."

He smiled, showing teeth. A real smile. "I am aware of that," He raised his eyebrows, "But allow me to act on this one small gesture. It's the least I could do," He kept his eyes trained on mine. I nodded my head, "I hope to see you around again?"

I backed up, banging the heel of my foot into a chair behind me. _Very smooth, Gilbert._ I nodded my head, too anxiously. I took a deep breath and calmed down, "I do hope so, Damon. Goodbye."

I turned around and started to walk away when I heard it. "Goodbye, Malina Gilbert." A smile tugged on my lips and I bit my bottom lip to keep in a squeal. He does remember me.

* * *

We all sat in a circle at one of the back tables of the Grill. Matt was standing beside Caroline, with me on his right. Followed by Bonnie, Elena, Tyler across from me and Caroline in the middle of Tyler and Matt. They were all talking about something stupid, football or history or the comet. I wasn't really paying attention. All I could think about was Damon.

Jeremy made his way over to our table frantically, standing between Bonnie and me. I shifted to the left so we could make room, making me uncomfortably closer to Matt. "Hey, had any of you seen Vicki?"

Tyler, being the jerk he is, had to reply with a snarky comment. He tilted his head to the side, "You're her stalker. Why don't you tell us?"

"I can't find her."

"She probably found somebody else to party with," Matt looked over at Tyler, confused. "Sorry, pill pusher. I guess you've been replaced." Elena and I speak at the same time, "What's with the pill pusher?" We are both looking back and forth between Tyler and Jeremy. I knew they had problems with one another, but I never knew it was this bad.

Tyler nodded in Jeremy's direction, "Ask him."

Jeremy narrowed his eyes, "You wanna do this right now?"

Elena sat up in her seat, leaning over the table to get a better look at Jeremy. "Are you dealing?" I placed my hand to my forehead and wished that this conversation wouldn't have come up. Tyler needed to get even with him and he knew exactly how to do it. He pushed all the right buttons with my family.

Tyler blinks, "She's never gonna go for you."

Jeremy grew angrier, leaning farther and farther over the table with every snide comment that is thrown his way. "She already did. Over and over and over again," He yelled across the table and I ran a hand through my hair. Matt didn't know how to comprehend.

Tyler stared at him stunned, "Yeah right."

Matt looked uneasy and I touched his arm, but he leaned away from me. Caroline spoke next, her voice was higher and pitchy. She didn't believe it. "You slept with Vicki Donovan. I mean, Vicki Donovan slept with you?" I gave her a dirty look.

Tyler looked straight at Caroline and chuckled under his breath, "There's no way."

Caroline leaned over Matt and slapped my shoulder, "Last Gilbert standing against the Donovan's. Get in there, Tiger!" She chuckled. I swallowed hard and looked up towards Matt, who seemed just as squeamish as I did. I looked back at Caroline and tried to crack a smile but I knew it came out forced. Tyler was watching me carefully.

Tyler repeated himself again, this time sterner. He shook his head slightly, "There's no way."

Jeremy's face contorted, he looked evil in a way. "And I didn't even have to force her into it," He snapped towards Tyler like his words were venom. His jaw clenched and his entire face tighter, his hands were clenched as balls.

Tyler just stared at him, mouth agape. His eyes were blank and I pushed myself away from the table a few inches, not wanting to hear anymore. I knew what Jeremy was referring to. I've seen it myself, Tyler was in an unstable place. I put him in an unstable place. Matt looked over at Tyler angrily, "What the hell's he talking about, Ty?"

"Nothing man, just ignore him. He's a punk," I cracked a laugh at that but it sounded sinister. Monstrous even. I never knew I could make a sound that sounded so demented, "Yeah, right."

Matt looked back at me then towards Tyler before scanning his eyes across the whole table. Everyone was tense. Angry. "You know what? How about all of you just shut up and help me find my sister?" Matt shouted at the entire table.

Bonnie pulled Caroline, "We'll check the bathroom."

Matt added, "I'll check the square."

In any other scenario, I would go with Matt. But I couldn't this time. So I decided to go with Tyler. Sadly, he was my best option.

Jeremy joined in, "I'll go with you." He stepped forward to follow Matt out of the Grill. But Elena chased after him. She grabbed his arm, trying to slip in front of him to stop him. "Oh no. No, no," She ran in front of him and slammed her hand against his chest. "You are coming with me," She grabbed his forearm and dragged him with her to scold.

I turned to Tyler and he didn't even take notice to my presence. At least, I thought he didn't. That was until he handed me my jacket and waited for me to catch up to him. I walked past him and he placed his hand on the small of my back, just like he always did.

We walked outside and circled the Grill, staying in complete silence. I cleared my throat, after the third time we walked around the building. "I don't think she's out here. Maybe we should look somewhere else."

He stopped abruptly and I bumped into the back of him with his sudden halt. He caught my arm, balancing me. "Sorry," I mumbled quietly and he waved it off.

"Where else should we look?" He asked turning around to face me. "You're the smarter one. So I'm all ears, Mal." I liked hearing that. He was actually talking to me as a human being rather than some bitch who randomly pushed him aside. Which technically, I was.

I shrugged, "Maybe she went home. She had a long week, she could have just been tired. Wanted to go to sleep."

"Shield herself away from the rest of the world?" He asked but the words felt like daggers. I knew he meant to throw them at me, wanted it to hurt. He got his wish, it did hurt.

I inhaled a long breath before letting it leave my throat slowly, "How many times do you want me to say that I'm sorry?"

"Until I can believe it." He adds softly. His eyes flicker in the moonlight then the mood changes. Something in him changes. The crescent moon softens his eyes. The night's air fills my lungs with hope. "I'm sorry. I do, I do believe you."

I took a step forward and placed my hand on his jaw. He closed his eyes immediately with my touch, "You shouldn't." He drew his eyebrows together and a crease lined his forehead. "You should never forgive me, I'm a bad person."

He laughed under his breath, like it was the funniest thing he's heard in a while. Perhaps it was. He could never believe that his poor, innocent Malina Gilbert could be a terrible human being. She used to think so too. But she knows better now. She faced the darkness, head on. In her thoughts, her dreams. She knows what darkness feels like, how it trickles into your skin and weaves its way into your soul.

"None of us are perfect, Malina." He tucked a piece of brown hair behind my ear, keeping hold of the blonde dyed strands. He gave a small smile which lit up his eyes, extending the smile to every inch of his face. "Everyone deserves a second chance, everyone."

I took a deep breath and forced my eyes shut, "I slept with Matt." It felt good to let it out. The guilt was overpowering my mind. Eating me inside-out. I felt as though, I was going crazy. It felt like a weight was lifted off of my shoulders. I could move more graceful, elegant, in fact.

I swallowed hard and opened my eyes, ready to receive any punishment he would throw my way. I was ready to mend this. Fix things. Fix everything in my life. I needed to stop hiding and get it over with already and now I could.

But when my eyes opened, Tyler was gone. The streets were empty. I was all alone.


	4. Chapter Four

_Author's Note:_

_I know this one is a little shorter than the others, but I wanted to leave it like this. The Founder's Party is going to be the next chapter and I'm starting to write that one now. So leave more reviews and it shall be up shortly! Thank you for all your thoughts so far, I'm glad this story is getting so much feedback. It's making me want to write more._

_But here is Chapter 4! And also, meet two new faces - Callie and Cashton, the new town deputies._

* * *

**_I'm a bitch, I'm a lover.  
_****_I'm a child, I'm a mother.  
_****_I'm a sinner, I'm a saint; I do not feel ashamed.  
_****_I'm your Hell, I'm your dream; I'm nothing in between.  
_****_You know you wouldn't want it any other way._**

**Chapter Four – Shaken Aftermath**

In the morning, I hurried out of bed throwing together an outfit as quickly as possible. Dark jeans and a Metallica shirt with the sleeves cut off. I borrowed Jenna's car, needing to get to my destination fast. I ran into the Sheriff's station and towards the front counter frantically. I couldn't find Sheriff Forbes. There was a new deputy sitting at the desk. He had short, dirty blonde hair, cut in a crew cut. Green eyes, as green as the grass in the middle of the summer. I bit my lip, "Is Sheriff Forbes here?"

The deputy looked straight up towards me, he was extremely attractive. Strong jawline and high cheekbones. _How haven't I seen him around town before?_ Forget it. A door opened and I noticed two blonde women step out. "Well thank you for letting us join your team, Sheriff."

Sheriff Forbes gave the younger blonde a smile, the looked over towards the other deputy. "It would be my honor to welcome two of the highest ranking graduates in the United States onto my force. Welcome to Mystic Falls," She held out her hand. "Callie," She shook hands briefly then focused on the boy sitting in front of me, "Cashton."

She noticed my presence and excused herself, ushering me to walk into her office. "Miss Gilbert," She shut the door behind her before turning around to face me in the middle of the room. "Always a surprise to see you at my work. What do you need?"

I bit my lower lip nervously, "Have you seen Caroline? She hasn't answered my calls all morning. I haven't seen her since early last night." I closed my eyes thinking back to the last moment I saw her. She and Bonnie departed from the table together. They were going to look in the bathrooms for Vicki.

* * *

I opened the car door and climbed out of the backseat of Bonnie's white car. I pulled my bag over my shoulder and took a deep breath. Weight was definitely lifted off of my shoulders since last night's confession, even if half of my friends hated me. Matt and Tyler were playing catch with another member of the football team, tryouts were today. Tyler looked like he was one edge. Bonnie and Elena were talking about Stefan, but I couldn't care less. I've heard enough talk about Stefan Salvatore that could last a lifetime. I pulled the sleeves of my leather jacket down tighter around my wrists.

Elena grabbed Bonnie's arm and they stopped walking, but I continued. I didn't need to hear more of Bonnie's witch problems. I placed on foot in front of the other, keeping my balance on the grass. I saw Stefan walk up to them and Bonnie ran away as fast as she could. She walked over to me, "You really don't like him, huh?"

She shrugged, "It's not like that. It's just," She sighed and shook her head. "Never mind, it's stupid. Have you heard from Caroline? She isn't answering me.

I shook my head, "Nope. I stopped by the Sheriff's office earlier this morning to talk to her mom. She said that she was in the house before her mom even got home from work last night. She'll probably be showing up any minute now."

I watched as Tyler threw the ball in Stefan's direction, going to hit him in the back of the head with it. Not even a fair shot. But last second, Stefan turned around and caught it. Everyone who was watched looked stunned. He launched it back towards Tyler, who stumbled backwards when it hit his stomach. I coughed up a laugh and Bonnie touched my arm, "I never asked. How have you been?"

I looked away from Tyler as the bell rang. Matt's eyes caught mine in the crowd of people and we stared at one another for a few moments. Tyler caught on and pushed his shoulder, making us break eye contact. "Don't look at her like that," Tyler shouted in Matt's face.

Matt swatted Tyler's hand off of his shirt and glared at him, "What is that supposed to mean, Ty?"

Tyler's jaw clenched and I walked away from Bonnie, not answering her question. I ran towards the bickering duo but Bonnie followed close behind, "You know exactly what I mean." He pushed Matt's chest, making him stumble backwards. Tyler knew what he was doing. He was causing a scene.

I started to pick up my pace across the field and Matt pushed Tyler back. It was a never ending cycle of who the alpha was. Tyler grabbed the front of the blonde's shirt and pulled him closer. "Let go of me," They were standing there, glaring at one another. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Tyler laughed, it was maniacal. "Oh what? So you don't remember sleeping with my ex-girlfriend?" He let go of Matt's shirt and pushed him back lightly, way too lightly that it didn't match the rage in his eyes. "That doesn't ring a bell to you, Donovan?" He spat in his face, way too loud. He wanted to get his point across and he wanted everyone to know.

I grabbed Tyler's arm and pulled him back, my touch only made him tense up. I leaned closer and tried to catch his attention, "Tyler. Stop it," I warned but he yanked his arm free. He turned his head to look into my eyes, hurt was swirling inside. He shook his head at me before turning back to Matt. He balled his hand into a fist and punched Matt in the nose. "Tyler!" I screamed and ran towards Matt, grabbing his face in my hands. His nose was bleeding and everyone was gathering in a circle around us.

"Have fun together, you guys," Tyler threw his head back and stormed past Bonnie, who was watching the entire thing. I could see Stefan and Elena a few feet away, she heard everything.

She took a step back and I let go of Matt's face, taking a few steps forward, "Lena. Elena, wait! I can explain!" I shouted but she was already running off, Bonnie chasing after her. I blew out a breath and turned back down to Matt, he was pinching his nose and holding his head back to stop the bleeding. I placed one hand on the back of his neck and the other on his chest, "Hey, hey, Matty. Are you okay?"

He ripped himself away from my touch and my lips slid into a straight line. "You told him. I thought we were keeping it between the two of us," He whispered close to my face, angrily.

I closed my mouth tightly, "Well we haven't exactly spoken since then. You still love Elena and it was eating me up inside. I was lying to my sister, my ex, everyone. I needed to tell somebody." He shook his head and I swallowed my pride, "I'm sorry."

He kept his eyes glued to mine before rolling his eyes, "Can you take me to the nurse?" I nodded and he draped his arm around my shoulders and we walked into the school building. Ignoring everyone's stares and comments. They could think what they wanted.

Elena and Stefan were standing at her locker, she didn't even bother looking over at me. We continued down the hallway and into the nurse's office. Tyler was already sitting there, ice on his hand. We all stared at one another in silence before he scooted over a seat, making room for the two of us to sit down. I sat in between them, folding my hands in my lap. Trying to seem as small as possible. It was awkward and silent, I would rather be anywhere else right now.

Matt broke the tension between us, "So are you ready for tryouts today?" He asked Tyler after the nurse handed him a box of tissues to stop his nose from bleeding and an ice pack. Tyler rolled his eyes and kept staring at the wall directly in front of him.

I let out a deep breath and decided to join in. We needed to clear the air, talk things through. "I actually think I might join the cheerleading squad again. It would be nice to get my mind off of things. Ease my way back into my usual routine," Tyler's hand clenched into a ball. "Plus, I sort of miss it."

"That would be fun," Matt added, glancing over at me. "Like old times, us on the field and you cheering us on. The bonfire is tomorrow night."

Tyler shot out of his seat and threw the ice pack down on the counter. "You two might be okay with things going back to the way things were, but they never will. Everything is now screwed up. Thanks to you two…" He paused for a second, narrowing his eyes on us, "Screwing."

* * *

At cheer practice after school, I sat away from Elena and Bonnie. I didn't want to make things any more awkward than it had to. Elena hated me right now, I would need to give her space to mend her wounds from my betrayal. They all did.

I heard music blasting and a light blue Camaro pulled up next to the field. I looked over and saw a perky blonde sitting in the passenger seat, Caroline. I stood up, getting ready to run towards her but stopped when I saw who else was in the car.

Caroline leaned over and planted a kiss on Damon's lips and I halted tight beside where Elena and Bonnie were siting. "Oh my God. That must be the mystery guy from the Grill."

Elena breathed out, "That's not a mystery guy. That's Damon Salvatore," Elena pushed herself off of the ground and stood beside me. We looked identical at the moment, same outfit, same hairstyle, same stern facial expression.

I looked over at my twin, "Salvatore? He's a Salvatore," I shook my head. _Of course, he's a Salvatore. Explains the undeniably good looks and wicked sense of humor that left you craving more._ Bonnie stood up as well, "Salvatore. As in Stefan?"

Caroline climbed out of the car, shutting the door behind her. She sashayed towards us cheerfully and walked in the middle of us, passing Elena. "I got the other brother. Hope you don't mind," She grinned widely and stood in front of the group. "Sorry girls, I, uh, was busy."

Elena and I both looked over towards Damon and he raised his eyebrows suggestively at us both. I let out a deep breath and crossed my arms as Elena had her hands on her hips. He kept staring at us until he drove away and I toned out everything Caroline was saying.

We started to practice, but Elena and I were both off rhythm. Neither of us could keep up with the routine and I was beginning to feel frustrated. I wanted so hard to come back into this and succeed, but my body couldn't take it. "Elena, Malina, sweetie. Why don't you two observe today, okay?" I swallowed hard and stared at Caroline blankly. Great, exactly what I wanted to do: sit next to my twin sister when she just found out I slept with Matt.

We sat down behind the bleachers and watched the football team tryouts. Matt was killing it, but Tyler was struggling a bit more. Matt was always better than Tyler at football. Tyler always had a ball of jealousy towards Matt, and our encounter just tipped the bowl. Stefan kept faking Tyler out and everyone could tell that Ty was getting aggravated.

She cleared her throat as we watched in silence. I wished we stayed in that peaceful and non-judgmental silence. I did not want to talk about this, "So you and Matt, huh?"

I ran my hand through my hair and looked over at her. "Elena, it just sort of happened."

"Did you always have feelings for him?" She snapped and I blinked a few times. _No, of course not._

I placed my hand on the grass, "No!" She shook her head, not believing me. "It was after me and Ty got into this huge argument, after I found out he tried to sleep with Vicki then came back to me. Matt was upset, I brought him home from the hospital. I didn't want him to be alone. I didn't want to be alone. We were drunk," I pleaded but she didn't look at me. "You were moving on, I guess I was trying to do the same."

She chuckled, "With my ex-boyfriend. The one that you set me up with. You could have anybody you want, Mali. But you decided to go after Matt."

* * *

I heard a doorbell ring and pulled my eyebrows together. Stefan and Bonnie were both already over for their dinner with Elena. I walked down the stairs to answer the door and called to Elena in the dining room, "I'll get it."

I opened the door to reveal an over-eager Caroline holding a cake in her hands with Damon standing behind her. "Surprise!" Caroline chimed and Elena walked up behind me. "Bonnie said you were having a dinner date, so I brought dessert." She stepped into the house and past the two of us, "Hope you don't mind."

Stefan ran to my other side and stepped in front of Damon, "What are you doing here?"

Damon stepped towards the door, but not inside the house. "Waiting for Elena to invite me in."

Elena opened her mouth to concur and ask him to come in, but Stefan stopped her. "No, no, no. He can't, uh, he can't stay." Elena looked confused between the two of them, "Can you, Damon?" He asked his older brother.

I stepped forward and grabbed Damon's arm and felt the same electricity as two nights before. When he touched my hand. I laughed lightly, "Don't be silly. Come inside, Damon."

He tilted his head towards Stefan and smirked before stepping through the door. "Thank you for the warm hospitality, Malina." When my name rolled from his tongue, a smile tugged on the corners of my lips. Elena looked between the two of us, confused on how we knew one another. The same expression came from Caroline and the rest of the group.

We sat down in the living room, drinking tea and eating the cake that Caroline provided. Caroline began talking up a storm, "I cannot believe Tanner let you on the team. Tyler must be seething," She looked over in my direction. I was sitting on Elena's left of the couch. Foot dangling on the ground, extremely close to Damon's that I could almost feel the heat radiating off of it. "But good for you."

The night took a twisted turn when Caroline seemed to take took much insensitive syrup today. Insults were coming from left and right, jabbing each one harder and harder at Elena. She brought up our parents death. She didn't have a filter. Damon tried to ease the mood, but eventually brought up Stefan's ex-girlfriend. Or should I say, both of their ex-girlfriend, Katherine. He was trying to take a jab to his brother, push his buttons and break them. See what makes him tick.

Damon gave a sympathetic smile, "The last thing I wanted to do was bring **her** up." He smirked towards Stefan and I felt Elena shift uncomfortably. You could feel the tension in the air. Between everyone. Elena and Caroline. Stefan and Damon. Bonnie and Stefan. Elena and I.

I stood up from the couch suddenly and all eyes were on me, "I need a refill." I threw the rest of my drink back and began to walk into the kitchen. I heard someone move behind me, but I didn't bother to look. I placed my glass down and opened the refrigerator. I grabbed the juice and pulled it out, closing the door but Damon stood behind it. I jumped backwards and took a deep breath, "You scared me."

He smiled wickedly, "My apologies, Miss Gilbert." I kept my eyes trained on his captivating blue.

I ran my hand through my hair and turned my head to the side, "So you and Caroline?" His eyes darted slightly, not containing our usual gaze. "She doesn't seem like your type."

An amused grin formed on his face, "And what is my type?"

My cheeks grew warm and I felt a blush creeping up my neck. I twirled a finger through my hair and glanced up at him through my long eyelashes. "Mysterious and endearing," I confidently answered.

He tilted his head to the side, "Impressive deductive skills. I think you might be right," He paused, fire gathering in his eyes, "Malina." He leaned forward and tucked a piece of hair behind me ear and leaned his arm over me. I breathed in his scent, the mint and aftershave. He grabbed my glass and took the juice out of my hands and refilled both of our cups. He placed the juice carton on top of the counter and a smile played on his face, "I like you."

I grinned back at him, "That's good to hear, Damon." I took a step forward, taking my glass out of his hand, I ran my other hand along his chest as I passed him before rejoining the rest of the group in the living room.

I walked back into the living room but Elena pulled me over to the side. She leaned closer to me and whispered in my ear, "How do you know Damon?" She pulled away to look at me, I rolled my eyes. "I just want you to be careful."

I shook my head, "He's with Caroline."

Damon walked back into the room and Caroline smiled at him, but he didn't look at her. Instead his eyes were locked on mine. Elena jerked her head to the side, mentally screaming _I told you so_. "And you were saying?"

"Elena, we drank together one time at the Grill. There is nothing going on between us." She chuckled under her breath, "I don't have a connection with him, only a physical attraction. I mean look at him," I stared at him, but his eyes flicked over to me when I said that. I looked away quickly and blew out a breath. "I like someone else," I folded my arms uncomfortably.

She smirked to herself, "Glad you finally admitted it. He's upstairs waiting in your room and wants to talk to you."


	5. Chapter Five

_Author's Note:  
_

_Thank you for all of the reviews, follows and favorites. I know I say it a lot, but I'm glad you are all enjoying this story!_

_Here is Chapter Five! A little more insight on Cashton McKenna, whose faceclaim is Ryan Kelley, no one other than our cute little deputy from Teen Wolf. His twin, Callie - Amber Heard. Although she doesn't make an appearance in this chapter. Next chapter will have more Damon and Malina scenes and Malina will learn about the vampires infestation in Mystic Falls._

_Enjoy and please please please leave your thoughts! I have the next chapter written, I just need to proofread it then I will put it up when this chapter gets enough reviews. Thank you for reading :)_

* * *

**_On the first page of our story, our future seemed so bright.  
Then this thing turned out so evil, I don't know why I'm still surprised.  
Even angels have their wicked schemes and you take death to new extremes.  
But you'll always be my hero, even though you've lost your mind._**

**Chapter Five – Unbelievable**

I walked into Matt's living room, automatically reclining on the couch and stretching my legs against the cushions. He closed the door and locked it, pulling behind the windows to make sure we haven't been caught. He walked towards me, picking my feet up to sit down then placing them in his lap. "How much longer do we need to hide?"

He tapped his fingers along my anklebone, sending vibrations up my leg. "Until everyone we know stops hating us so much." He looked over at me, his eyes were heavy and tired. We haven't gotten much sleep, between hiding our friendship and trying to maintain our everyday lives. "They would be pissed if they knew how much we've been hanging out."

I groaned and leaned my back against the cushions, "I can't like you. I can't like Damon. I'm getting really annoyed with being told who I'm allowed to be attracted to."

He snorted, "I can't believe Elena sent Tyler over to your house."

I placed my hands over my face before thumping the heel of my foot against his thigh, he gasped out in pain and I smirked. "I told you that in confidence and we swore to never speak of it again. It was humiliating, for both of us!"

He put his hand up in defeat, "It's just funny, you know?" He placed his hand down on my thigh and rested it there. "You say you have feelings for someone and Elena just assumes it has to be Tyler."

"Apparently he asked Vicki to the Founder's Celebration as his date," I bit my bottom lip tightly. "This is the first year we aren't going together. The first year I'm going solo. Care is bringing Damon, Elena asked Stefan. I love Bonnie to death, but I can only handle so much of her witch talk."

He laughed, "So she really believes that she's a witch?"

I raised an eyebrow and stared at him contently, "She doesn't only believe that she's a witch. She thinks that she managed to predict our dick of a football coach and history teacher,** Mr. Tanner's**, death. 8-14-22."

He leaned over the couch and kissed me slowly, I ran my hand up his back to his neck and interlocked my fingers into his messy hair. "Well she sure has the crazies side-effect that comes with it."

I walked down the stairs, carrying my bowl of ice cream in one hand and a book in the other. I was multitasking at its finest before this Founder's Celebration. It was going to be different and I dreaded it. I didn't even want to go. I would rather curl into a ball and never come out.

As I made it to the bottom of the stairs, the doorbell rang and I reached the door. Jeremy was following me, close behind. I opened the door to reveal Tyler standing on the other side, hands by his sides. I swallowed hard and opened my mouth to speak, but my mouth felt dry. Jeremy came up behind me and forced the door to shut in his face.

Tyler extended his hand out, halting the door before it got the chance to close fully. He opened it back up and I folded my arms across my chest and glared at him, "I'm here for my mom." I rolled my eyes and he exhaled, "I'm supposed to pick up a box for-" Elena came running up behind the two of us. "It's right here."

She stepped in front of the both of us and handed him the box, "Please be careful."

"Yeah. Be careful with it, dick." Jeremy added and I smirked proudly to myself. He learned from the best. Sarcasm was my only defense, so I like to believe I did well.

Elena interceded, "Hey, not now. Okay, guys? Please," She pleaded bulging her eyes out in Tyler's direction. Tyler stared at Jeremy and tilted his head back and forth, "I'm fine. He's just being a punk."

"I got your punk," Jeremy said, edging him on further. I could see the frustration in Tyler's eyes and for some reason, it made me feel better. Watching him try and being shut down repeatedly, it was rewarding. Tyler looked over to Elena trying to communicate through his eyes that he was trying.

Elena gave Tyler a forced smile, "Look Tyler. I think you should go. Tell your mom, I'll see her tonight."

She walked away and Jeremy immediately started to close the door but Tyler stopped it again. "Hey!" Jeremy sent him a blank stare. "Would it make a difference if I told you I actually like Vicki?"

I swallowed hand and stepped away. Backing into the corner of the house. Jeremy answered cockily as he closed the door, "Not even if you meant it." When he turned around, I was staring grimly at the ground. "He's a dick for saying that in front of you."

I chuckled to myself under my breath before regaining eye contact with my younger brother, "He's always a dick. I think I'm finally catching on to that."

Bonnie came over to get ready for the party, she wanted to see Elena for a little bit before Stefan picked her up. Caroline wasn't answering any of our calls, probably dodging them for Damon. The mystery man who she has been talking about for the past week. The guy I had an instant attraction to, something pulling me towards him. I couldn't even act like I had feelings for him, like everyone else I care about.

I looked in the mirror and didn't recognize the girl staring back at me. She looked confident and happy. Dosed in make-up and hairspray, I guess it gives you the feel that you can make it through the day. You can smile a little brighter.

Bonnie had a piece of my brown hair wrapped around the curling iron, small pieces of blonde scattered throughout it. My dyed hair was fading out, the ombre only appearing in certain angles. "It's weird that all of us aren't getting ready together. And Matt and Tyler," Bonnie paused mid-sentence and stared at me apologetically.

I let out a short breath, "It does feel weird. I've been going to these parties arm-in-arm with Tyler since we were practically forced together by our parents in grade school."

She laughed, "I always was Caroline's date and now she has a boyfriend." I gave her a warm smile and she twirled another piece of hair around the iron, "I'm surprised you aren't going with Matt." I looked up at her in the mirror and she had a pointed look on her face. Like she was waiting for me to drop the news that Matt asked me.

It wouldn't be coming. Matt mentioned it but I told him not to finish his sentence because if he got the words out, I wouldn't be able to resist. I did want to go with Matt. I wanted to go with him so bad. I wanted to be seen in public with him. Laugh with him. Have a good time like I always did when I was with him.

I cleared my throat, "I was under the impression that if I did, it would be frowned upon and I would be punished." I quirked an eyebrow and she giggled. I let out a light breath and admitted it, "I would have went with him in a heartbeat if he asked. I asked him not to, because I didn't want to upset any of you."

She bounced the curl and let it fall against the rest of my hair, "It's not too late, you know."

Elena walked into the bathroom carrying two bags full of make-up, she sighed. "I need your guys' help with what dress to wear. Jenna bought me this new dress to wear tonight, so I want to." She pulled out a tight red dress that I helped her pick out, "But this dress is the one I bought for tonight. I don't want either to go to waste."

She looked over towards me with a plastered grin on her lips and a hopeful gaze, "Fine Elena. I guess I will wear the damn dress," I stood up and pulled it out of her hands and she squealed and clapped her hands together. "I thought you might say that," She laughed lightly and touched one of my curls with her two fingers.

Matt and I stood in line waiting to get into the party. Mr. and Mrs. Lockwood were standing at the entrance, greeting everyone at the door as they came. Tyler was standing off to the side, behind his father. I caught his eyes when he noticed me. He knew I never dressed up like this, I didn't know how to read his expression. But I felt good and that's all that mattered.

I turned away from Tyler and looked at Matt, "This feels weird." My body was shaking nervously and for once, I wish I was invisible. "Matt, I can't breathe." I didn't know if he told his parents that we broke up. I didn't know the reason if he did. What would he say? She turned into a bitch and dumped me. Most likely.

Matt brushed my bangs out of my eyes and placed his hands on either side of my side, "You're gonna be fine. Look at me," I obeyed and raised my attention to his blue eyes, "You will be fine, I promise. I won't let anything happen to you tonight."

I nodded my head and he pressed his lips to mine for an instant before pulling away. We're supposed to stay hidden, but by the look on Tyler's face – we weren't doing that well of a job.

The couple in front of us walked into the house and it was our turn. I took a deep breath before we walked up the stairs to the Lockwood mansion. The one that I have been in hundreds of times, but this one felt different. Carol greeted me with a hug, "Hey honey." She pulled away smiling, "It's great to see you. I miss you around the house."

I looked over at Tyler awkwardly and Mr. Lockwood shook Matt's hand, "Great to see you, Matt."

Carol leaned forward and whispered in my ear, "What has Tyler been doing cleaning out the dumpster?" Her eyes darted to Vicki, who was standing in the crowd waiting to be welcomed into their home. Although, her welcome didn't look to be all that pleasant. I sighed, "You were so much better for him. He's spiraling."

I felt guilty, I sent him spiraling – not Vicki. I nodded slowly, "Sometimes things are doomed to end." I walked past her and Mayor Lockwood and Tyler stopped me but Matt kept walking. I groaned and caught his eyes, "What Tyler? I need to be getting back to my _date_," I exaggerated, words seething venom.

He placed his hand on my back and leaned forward, his voice sounded vicious. "I don't know what kind of game you're playing, but you'll lose."

I smiled primly, "Unlike you, Tyler. This isn't a game to me and I actually care about Matt. But by all means, have fun taking out the trash." I walked past him, shoving him with my shoulder and I took Matt's arm in mine. He stormed down the stairway and over to Vicki.

Once darkness overtook the night and the only lights were the tiny Tiki Torches Carol bought and the full moon shining down on us. We went outside, the lake's waves were crashing against the shoreline. There were a few people dancing, Caroline and Stefan. I grabbed Matt's hand and he flinched, "Shall we dance?" He looked away quickly, staring at our interlocked hands. I wrapped my arms around his shoulders and whispered in his ear, "We can't get our wrists slapped for having a little intimacy while dancing."

He shook his head before placing his hands on my hips and pulling me closer against him, "Well I don't dance."

I playfully threw my head to the side and batted my eyelashes, "We are both fully aware of that lie. Tyler doesn't dance, but you," I smiled widely and flirty, "I know you got a few moves." He shook his head again before dipping me to the ground and I let out a squeal. He lifted me back up on my feet and I stood up straight and started giggling, "See that's what I'm talking about!"

Caroline looked over towards us and waved at me, I returned one. I ran my hand up Matt's neck to the patch of hair at the nape of his neck. He leaned forward and kissed me for a few seconds, the longest kiss since the one earlier that day at his house. Once he pulled away, I stared at him in shock. "I thought that was prohibited."

He shrugged his shoulders and took a handful of hair in his palm, "Screw what our friends think."

I placed my hand on his chest and trickled my fingers along his collar bone, "I think this Matt should come out more often." I bit my bottom lip and he kissed the tip of my nose, I breathed against his neck.

"As long as this Malina stays for a while," He was right. I was happy and fun to be around, something no one could say one week ago. When I was still locked in my bedroom drowning out my days with Supernatural and sappy, romantic movies that I've seen one-too-many times.

He cleared his throat and stiffened, I squeezed his shoulder lightly. He licked his lips nervously, "I need to go to the bathroom." His eyes flicked downwards and I followed with my eyes and discovered the real reason behind his departure.

I cracked a laugh, "I think that I understand."

His cheeks burned up and he laughed, "I'll be right back. I promise," He scurried away and I walked off of the dance floor and over towards the bar. Hopefully it was late enough that they would no longer as for I.D.

I looked over and noticed a familiar looking man. He wasn't wearing his uniform and he stood off to the side uneasily. I grabbed two glasses of champagne off of a server who walked by, leaving him before he could ask any questions. I held out the glass towards him, "You look like you might need this." He looked down at me before grasping the glass in his own hand. He flashed a grateful smile, "You look different when you lose the uniform."

He laughed nervously, "Is that a good or a bad different?"

I placed my hand on my chin like I was inspecting him. He pulled the glass of champagne to his mouth and drank it eagerly. "I think it is definitely a good thing, Deputy."

"My name is Cashton. Lose the deputy outside of work, don't have a badge on me," He chuckled. He was awkward and cute, couldn't maintain eye contact for longer than a few seconds before getting completely flustered.

I nodded my head, "I'm Malina. Cashton, huh?" He nodded his head up and down, "Unique name."

He raised his eyebrows. _Yeah, sure. Mine was unique as well._ "It's a family name. My twin got the more normal name apparently."

My jaw dropped, "That was your twin? Glad to know that I'm not the only twin around here anymore." I smirked, "Elena took the normal name too, I guess." I saw Tyler making his way towards me, he was fuming. I swear I could see the steam coming out of his ears. I rolled my eyes and threw the rest of my champagne back, "Oh great. If a Matt Donovan comes looking for me, tell him it's a 12-21. He'll know what I mean." I spoke to Cashton without looking at him, before Tyler made his path fully over to us. "Tyler meet Cashton," Tyler ignored me and captured my wrist in his hand. I gasped out and he pulled my forward forcefully, knocking the wind out of me. "What the hell?"

"We need to talk," He grumbled in my ear and I turned to look over at Cashton with wide eyes.

He grabbed me by the elbow and led us down the hallway to find an empty room. He pushed me into the room before him, then slammed the door behind him. "It was one thing when you called Vicki trash, but hearing my mom say it? What are you doing, Mal? Trying to infiltrate the minds of others with all the lies you've been feeding yourself."

I shrugged my shoulders nonchalantly, "I don't know what you're talking about."

He growled, "Don't lie to me." He grabbed me by the shoulders and shook my angrily, "Stop lying to me. That's all you do anymore; lie, lie, lie!"

I gasped out with every shake and clamped my eyes shut for a millisecond, "Tyler. You're scaring me."

His eyes darkened, his normal brown eyes with a light green, yellowish color in the iris was completely gone. They were so dark, they almost looked black as night. As he got closer, the smell of alcohol on his breath grew stronger. "You think you can be happy while I'm miserable. You can date Matt as you sabotage my relationship with Vicki? It's not going to happen. No one is going to want you after this."

I scrunched my face, but his eyes were wild. "After what?"

He grabbed the bottom of my dress and pulled me forward, pressing against him. He kissed my neck and I tried to push him off of me. "You ruined everything," He pushed me against the wall forcibly, causing me to smack my head against it. "Now it's my turn to ruin you."

I punched his chest, trying to knock the wind out of him, trying to escape. "Tyler Benjamin Lockwood," I managed to say that part sternly. But with the rising of my dress and his roaming hands; my voice grew desperate. "Tyler! Tyler, please, please don't do this." I struggled under his strength, "Stop."

He shook his head and pressed his lips to mine. They were hungry and vengeful. Teeth scraping against my skin. "Tyler," I cried out and pushed my hands against his shoulders. Tears were running down my cheeks, spilling from my eyes. "Why are you doing this? Please stop. Tyler! Tyler, look at me," I placed my hand under his chin firmly and made him look towards me. His eyes softened but his jaw remained clenched. I trickled my fingers against his jawline, "You don't need to do this. I love you, you don't need to do this."

The door busted open and Matt and Cashton ran into the room. Tyler pushed himself off of the wall and into the middle of the room, placing his hands in the air. I collapsed onto the ground, my legs no longer supporting the rest of my body. I started crying hysterically. Cashton stared at the scene unfolding before his eyes. Matt noticed my untidy dress, the rips and tears in my stockings, the straps of my dress around my shoulders.

He bolted over to Tyler and punched him square in the jaw as hard as he could. Tyler, drunk and unsteady, toppled onto the ground. Cashton ran to my side, placing his arms around me and picking me up. I nestled into a ball and gripped the front of his shirt tightly in my hands.

Matt turned down to Tyler, crouching to become eye level. "What the hell did you do to her, man?"

Tyler stood up, a bruise was already forming on his jaw. He looked over at me, curled against Cashton. He stepped towards me, but Matt pushed him back keeping the distance. "Let me talk to her," He staggered. "She's my girlfriend and I want to talk to her."

Matt patted his cheek to get his attention, Tyler was in and out of the conversation. "She's not your girlfriend anymore, Ty."

Tyler swallowed hard, "But I love her."

Tyler looked my way, hurt filling his eyes. I hugged myself closer to Cashton and he tightened his grip around me. "Please take me out of here. I can't be here." He nodded and walked out of the room, back into the ballroom. Everyone glanced over at us, confused and shocked faces. "I want to go home. Can you take me home?"

He nodded, "Of course."

He exited the party from the backyard and walked over to his baby blue pick-up truck. He opened the passenger side door with one hand and placed me inside. "Thank you," I nodded my head repeatedly, trying to hold back the tears bottling up. He shut the door and ran around the other side.

He climbed into the truck and turned the key in the ignition. The engine roared and he turned his headlights on. "Where do you live?"

"2104 Maple Street," I explained and he nodded his head, taking off the road in that direction. "Exciting first week on the job, right?" I laughed but he didn't find it all that amusing. "Sheriff Forbes said you were in the top ten graduates in the country?"

His emerald eyes flicked over to mine, "Yeah. I was number three, Callie was nine. Let's just say that family dinners got a little awkward after that."

I chuckled, "Number three. That's insane. Where are you from?"

"Ireland, initially." I snuck him a look and he continued, "We moved here when we were four years old. Grew up in a small town in Indiana. Unless you want to become a farmer, you need to get out of there at a young age."

I snorted, "Young age? You're young now!"

He tilted his head to the side, "I'm twenty-four. But I know, I look a lot younger. Must be good genes or something," I placed my head against the glass window. The cold glass made me feel better. I momentarily forgot that the boy I loved just tried to rape me. Cashton was good company too. In these moments, I could see the police officer bits of him seeping through the surface. Lightening the mood.

"There's definitely what it is," I teased and he blushed. "You can turn left here, you skip all of the lights and it's quicker."

He nodded and listened to my directions. He was different. He didn't ask questions, just listened. It was nice to not be pressured about what happened tonight. For a police officer, I kind of expected that from him. But not having an interrogation on the ride home was relaxing.

He came to a slow stop out front of my house. I gave him a sheepish look and he turned the truck off. I placed my hand on the door handle, but I couldn't stop it from shaking. I opened the door slowly, blowing out a breath as I did so. He jumped out of the car and joined my side quickly. He draped his arm around my shoulder and walked me to the door. My hands fumbled for my keys in my purse and I nervously opened the door.

I stepped in and flicked on the lights. It was empty, Jeremy must have gone out. I turned around and Cashton stood in the doorway awkwardly. "Would you like to come in?"

He stepped through the door and closed it behind him. I gave him a small smile and pulled the bottom of my dress down. I licked my chapped lips, "I'm going to change. But thank you again, Cashton."

He leaned back against the doorframe, "You could call me Crash."

I smiled lightly, "Crash. Well I'll be right back, make yourself comfortable."

I walked up my stairs and stumbled into my bedroom, pulling my dress from my body. I threw it onto the ground and stared down at my worn-out stockings, ripped in many different places. I pulled them off and added them to the pile of clothes on the floor. I picked out a black, long sleeved shirt which was a few sizes too big for me. Granted, it was Tyler's. But it was my favorite shirt.

I pulled on a pair of black sweatpants and pulled my hair into a bun on the top of my head. I fixed my make-up, smudged eyeliner from crying.

_I can do this. Just fake a smile and forget about it. Who cares that you told him you loved him when you were in trouble? You're strong._

I walked back down the stairs and I heard talking coming from the kitchen. I stepped in and Matt was grabbing ice out of the freezer to apply to his bruising knuckles and forming black and blue eyes. I stared at him, "He may have fought back after you left."

He placed the rag full of ice on his eye and I walked over to him. "Thank you," I pulled the ice from his hands and numbed the bruise. Cashton glanced away from the two of us, "Both of you. You guys saved me. It was really brave," I looked up at Matt, "You were brave for doing that."

He pulled my hands with the rag away from his face and leaned forward, kissing the top of my head. "I'd do anything for you, Malina."

Cashton cleared his throat, "My sister keeps texting me. She needs me to pick her up, so I'm going to leave. But," He pulled a card out of his wallet and handed it to me, "If you need anything, give me a call."

I shook my head staring at the number listed at the bottom, "Okay."

He stepped backwards and looked over at Matt before looking back at me, "Okay." He walked out of the kitchen and I heard the door shut a few moments later, then the rev of an engine and tires squealing against the pavement.

Matt pulled me into him, between his legs and I ran my hand through the front of his hair. It was getting longer than he normally wore it. "Okay," He mumbled and pressed his lips to mine.

I chuckled against his mouth, keeping my eyes shut. "Okay."

I pressed myself against him and kissed him harder, pulling at the collar of his dress shirt. I wanted to forget about tonight. I pulled the back of his hair and bit his lip. A moan escaped his lips and I let my hands travel towards his belt buckle. He pulled away quickly, breaking apart and I stared at him. He rested his hand on the side of my head, combing my hair with his thumb. "Hey, what are you doing? Deep breaths. We don't need to do this," He looked into my eyes intensely.

I shook my head, "I know we don't need to. I want to," I pulled his lips back to mine once again.

He jumped away and took my hands in his, "Well I don't want to. Not like this."

"I'm not broken," I snapped and pulled my hands out of his grasp. I took a step back, but he caught my hip with one of his hands and kept me within his reach. "So stop acting like I need to be fixed, please."

He took a piece of my hair in his fingers and twirled it around his thumb. "I know that, believe me, I know that. That's not what I'm doing," He raised his eyebrows, "I just want you to feel safe."

I nodded, "That's all I feel when I'm around you." He kissed the indent of my cheek and laughed, allowing the dimple to sink into my skin. "As much as I love this," I ran my hands up his arms to his shoulders than back to his hands, "I am tired. I really just want to go to bed, sleep this off."

He stood up, his body giving off heat. He pulled me into a warm hug and I wrapped my arms around his middle, burying my face into his chest. "I'll let you get some rest then," He ran his hand down my hair to the back of my neck. He pushed the back of my neck forward, causing my head to rise. "Good night," He kissed me one last time before stepping away.

I grabbed his hand and pulled him back, "Stay." He tilted his head to the side, keeping his eyes locked on mine. "If you can, please stay."

He blew out a breath before a grin played across his lips, "I mean I guess so. Since you're begging oh-so-cutely."

I smacked his arm lightly, "Don't make me punch you in the other eye. That wouldn't be an attractive look."

We walked upstairs and into my bedroom, I sat on the bed and pulled the comforter around me. Letting it envelop me into safety. He stood against the bureau, "How are you feeling, Malina?"

I raised my eyes from my patterned blanket, my nails digging into the stitching. "I'm fine," I shrugged my shoulders and Matt narrowed his eyes on mine. I looked back down at the blanket, "I could be better."

He walked over to the bed and crouched down to be eye level, "It wasn't your fault. You know that right?" I furrowed my eyebrows together, "Right?"

His fingers glided across my jawline, "Matt. I know," I looked up, "I know. He's not in his right mind right now."

"That doesn't justify his actions. You can feel guilty about everything that you've done to him recently, but none of it; I mean none if it will ever justify his actions." I nodded my head and tried my hardest to keep the tears away. "And what he said to you the other night, that doesn't justify his actions."

I groaned, "Can we please just stop talking about the other night?!"

He swallowed hard, "I'm gonna use the bathroom. I'll turn the light off," He switched the light switch off before walking into the bathroom in the next room. The moon shone through the window. It was a full moon, illuminating the night sky. Mystic Falls hasn't had a full moon on a clear night like this in a while.

I laid against the mattress, turning on my side facing the window to stare at the moon. I closed my eyes after a few minutes, clutching the blankets tighter around me. The bed felt ruined. I shared this tiny space with Tyler. It was a small bed, bodies intertwined. My breaths grew heavy and the weight of my chest felt even heavier. I tightened my eyes so hard until white specks were lining the corners of my vision.

I choked back a sob and my chest was heaving. I bet my bottom lip and my body began to shake. I couldn't remain calm. I couldn't concentrate on anything other than what happened tonight. I couldn't keep my mind off Tyler. When he snapped out of it, he didn't even remember what he did. It was like he blacked out completely.

The mattress shifted and I rolled towards the middle of the bed and I jumped in my own skin. I gasped out and curled into a ball. "Mali, it's me. It's just me."

I gasped desperately and sat up, tangling my fingers in my hair. I rocked back and forth, "I'm sorry."

He stood up immediately and I closed my eyes. I scared him off, my own best friend. But instead of leaving which is what I expected. He walked over to my closet and pulled a blanket out and setting it up on the bed. He walked back over to the bed and carefully grabbed a pillow, trying not to startle anyone. He threw the pillow on the ground as well, "Don't worry about it. I'll sleep on the floor, no worries," He dropped himself on the ground, pulling his feet towards him. "I'll be right here, if you need me."

I let out a soft but also, thankful, breath, "Okay."


	6. Chapter Six

_Author's Note:_

_Hello darlings! Sorry for the delay, I've had a lot of homework over the past few days. Working a full time job and going to my classes is getting tiring, but here in the next chapter!_

_I hope that you all enjoy it so far and there is plenty more to come!_

_Continue leaving your thoughts and reviews, but this time I'm gonna do this a little bit different. What team are you on? Team Tyler, Matt, or Damon? Or would you like to see Malina with someone in future seasons, because there will be plenty more characters coming along in the future. Klaus, Kol, a few more newbies. And the beginning sample was a hint of what Malina may be. Any guesses?_

* * *

**_I watch how the moon sits in the sky on a dark night, shining with the light from the sun.  
But the sun doesn't give the light to the moon, assuming the moon's gonna owe it one.  
It makes me think of how you act for me, you do favors there rapidly.  
You just turn around and start asking me about things that you want back from me.  
I'm sick of the tension, sick of the hunger, sick of you acting like I owe you this.  
Find another place to feed your greed while I find a place to rest._**

**Chapter Six – The Devil Within**

_I stepped through the door and Tyler sat on the edge of my bed, his eyes were full of tears. Blood was staining his shirt. I ran into the room fully and slid to my knees in front of him, "Ty. Oh my God, are you okay, Tyler?"_

_"I-I, it wasn't supposed to happen like that."_

_"What happened?" I took his hands in mine, which were covered in blood. But it didn't seem like his own blood. He wasn't bleeding. It was someone else's blood. I sucked on my bottom lip and fidgeted slightly, "You need to tell me what happened so we can fix this. Please tell me what happened."_

_He shrugged his shoulders and wiped his hands against his pant legs, trying to clean his hands. He was scaring me. I didn't know how to help him, but I had to. No matter everything we've been through, I needed to help him. "I need you to, oh god. You can't judge what I'm about to tell you."_

_I shook my head and took his cheeks in my hands, strumming my thumb against his cheekbones. He stopped crying, he seemed to be taking hold of what is happening. He took control of the moment. "I would never judge you."_

_He looked up and his eyes looked a mixture of wild and pure. He seemed innocent but with a monster raging inside. "I killed someone," He muttered and I stood up almost immediately and took a few steps back. He put his head in his hands and rubbed his forehead, "I didn't mean to, but I did." _

_He fit the part. The devil within the angel._

* * *

I was washing a car with Matt when a bubbly Caroline came up behind me and pinched my sides. I yelped and she tugged on the bottom of my shirt, she was examining me. And by the look on her face – I was not passing her test. "It's supposed to be sexy. You look like a pilgrim."

My jaw dropped, "I'm wearing my cheer shorts and a tank top! Not a pilgrim."

She crossed her arms and tilted her head to the side. I was happy that she was back, back to her normal self. Damon and Caroline breaking up was the best thing for her. She was cheerful and nagging, the Caroline I've always known.

"Lose the tank top."

I folded my arms and assumed her exact stance. Shoulders squared and stern look on her face with puckered lips. "If you tell me what to do. I will definitely not listen. You should know that by now."

Matt leaned against the car, "I don't know, Mal. What harm could come from losing the shirt?"

I turned around and scolded him, "You are not helping here!"

Caroline grinned triumphantly, "I say you should listen to your boyfriend." She pranced away and I shouted after her, "He's not my boyfriend."

I turned around to look at Matt who had a childish grin on his face. "You're not my b-" He cut me off with his lips before I could finish the statement. His hands pulled at the hem of my shirt and he yanked it over my head in one swift movement and I slouched forward, "Happy now?"

He chuckled, licking his lips as he stared at me, "Definitely."

I looked up to notice that a crow was perched up on a telephone pole. Matt followed my gaze, "That crow has been everywhere. Seems like we have a new town member in bird form."

He threw a wet rag in my direction, soaking me as it slapped against my chest. I paused and stared at him with shocked eyes, arms frozen like a statue. "You looked like you needed to calm down," He chimed.

I shook my head and threw the rag back at him, "Ha ha, very funny." He took the rag and started to wash the car again, "I'm surprised Tyler isn't here. This is his sort of thing. Not that I care or anything," I shrugged my shoulders way too obnoxiously. Matt looked up through his eyelashes, folding his arms against his black tank top. "Okay, I do care. I care too much and I know I shouldn't because of what happened but I do. And you can judge me all you want for being foolish and naïve because what he did was wrong."

"Slow down, Mal." Matt ran around the car and towards me. "You can care about him all you want, that's up to you. I know you will always care about him. I know you still those dreams," I pushed a piece of hair behind my ear. I forgot that I told him.

I sighed and let my hands fall against my sides. "How do you know that?" He raised an eyebrow, "You're right. I do have dreams about him, but I have them about all of you. Tyler, you, Elena. Even that stupid crow," I pointed towards the crow and it turned its tiny head towards me. I looked away quickly, remembering the night with the man on my porch. I shuddered. "Can we forget that I brought this up?"

He nodded and placed his hand on my cheek, "No problem. But you can talk to me. If Elena will talk to me about Stefan, you can tell me about Tyler and the nightmares you're having. Anything."

I leaned towards him and pressed my forehead against his chest. "I'm just worried about him," I bit my lip thinking about the blood on his hands from my dream last night.

I looked over to see Elena at the table, accepting the money and Caroline was missing. Matt touched my shoulder but I started walking in that direction, "What are you doing playing secretary?"

She folded her arms on the table, "Caroline needed to get more towels. You look like you're having fun with Matt," She drummed her fingers against the table. I exhaled, "Elena."

She cut me off, "We talked yesterday about everything. He said something funny to me about Jeremy and Vicki. 'Your brother and my sister, that's weird.' I thought it was some kind of joke, but then I realized. Yes, you and Matt dating is weird. But if I've moved on, he should be able to, as well."

I placed my head on my hip, "What is this? You're giving me your blessing? Because last time I checked, I didn't need anything from you."

She stood up, "Mali, I'm trying here!"

"Yeah, too late for that. Now that you're done judging me, you're giving me permission?"

She reached for my arm, "That's not what I wanted this to be. I want you to be happy."

I swallowed hard, "It's pretty hard to be happy anymore. Especially with everything that has happened to me recently. Things that you don't even know about because you're too wrapped up in your own life and Caroline's dating life and Bonnie's witch problems that you don't even know what happened a few nights ago."

Matt grabbed my waist and pulled me away, "Hey. Calm down," He whispered in my ear. I leaned my weight against him and he held me tightly. "I got you, you're alright."

Elena stepped forward, "What happened, Malina? I'm listening now."

I stood up on my own and cleared my throat, "It's too late now."

* * *

I walked from the Grill back to my house, taking the same back roads that I always do. I played a few rounds of pool until Jenna called me wondering where Jeremy or Elena were. Jeremy texted me a few minutes prior, asking if I could pick him up. He was at the cemetery with Vicki, but they got into an argument.

I turned the corner, the streets were dark and empty. The air was sharp, the fall air finally settling in Mystic Falls. A few feet away from where I stood, I saw a man stumbling. He could barely keep himself up. He got closer to me and tripped over his own feet so I ran over to help him. "Hey, do you need me to call you a cab or something? You should probably be getting home." He raised his head and I sucked in a quick breath, "Damon?"

His dark eyes looked up into mine, the lights from the streetlamps were illuminating his eyes. He looked as if he had no recollection of who I was, but at the same time he knew exactly who I was. It was a fine line between reality. His eyes opened widely and he pulled me closer to him, hands grabbed at my shoulders. "Katherine?" I shook my head and his face changed. Dark veins grew under his eyes and his eyes turned a blood red. Fangs grew wear his teeth normally were and he inched closer to me.

I pushed him away, "Damon. Damon, it's me. I'm not Katherine. Damon, it's Malina. Malina Gilbert," I struggled as he moved to my neck. I sucked in a quick breath and closed my eyes to hold back the fear. Not of what I was seeing, but that he was about to bite me.

He pulled away and his face was back to normal. Bright blue eyes and perfectly straight teeth. Although he still looked weak and fragile. Scruff lining his jawline. I never saw him with facial hair, but it definitely suited him. His voice was husky, "Malina."

I nodded, "Yes it's me. It's me, you'll be okay." I grabbed the sleeve of his black shirt in my hand and pulled him closer to me, allowing myself to help him keep balance. "I'll bring you home. Stefan will help you." With the mention of his brother's name, he pushed me away from him and stormed past me. When I turned around, he was gone.

I let out an exasperated breath and turned around. I knew where I had to go – who I had to see. There was only one person who could give me the answers, the truth, that I needed._ Stefan Salvatore._

* * *

He opened the door, revealing his tired features. "Hey Stefan. I know that I probably shouldn't be here, but I needed to talk to you. It's about Damon," He opened the door completely like he knew exactly what I was talking about. Perhaps he had. I took a step through the door and took in the appearance of his house. He shut the door behind me so I spun around on my heel when I heard the click of the door, "What are you?"

He scrunched his eyebrows together and narrowed his green eyes, a crease forming on his forehead. "What," His voice came out higher than usual, but he cleared it quickly. "What do you mean?"

"I saw his face, it changed. He had fangs. What is he? I'm guessing you're one too."

He took a deep breath, "I think you know. You just don't want to say it because it will change everything. It would morph this fantasy into a reality that you aren't quite ready for."

I shook my head quickly, my reaction lifted before he even finished his sentence. "I don't care about the world changing. I don't care about everything I thought that I once knew will be lost forever. I want the truth." My face was stern, to match my voice. "What are you and Damon?"

He breathed out slowly, "Vampires."

I swallowed, "Does Elena know? Is that why she was gone all day? You can't keep this from her, she deserves to know."

He looked away uneasily, "She knows. I don't know how, but she does. She was just here, ran away then kicked me out of your house when I tried to explain it. Not like you, though. You seem rather interested."

I walked into the living room, the house was huge. Antique furniture which would be believed to be passed down through the generations – which it was, the generations passed but they never aged a day. In the middle of the room against the wall was a burning fireplace, smoke radiating from the wood. I picked up a book from the bookcase. Each shelf had a different genre. "I am interested. Not so often do you come across a family of vampires."

He walked closer, pouring each of us a drink from, undoubtedly, Damon's collection. "It's not like that. We weren't born this way. We were turned into vampires. We were shot with vampire blood in our system."

I turned to look up at him, "Was it Katherine? Did she turn you?" He shook his head, "That whole lie about the fire, that's what it was right? A lie. Katherine is still very much alive."

He nodded his head, "Yes she is still alive. Katherine and twenty, or more, other vampires were locked in the basement of the Fell's Church." He folded his arms and I leaned against the wall, facing him. "How do you know about Katherine?"

I closed my eyes, I could still hear the way the name left Damon's lips. The pain she caused him, laced in every syllable. He spoke about Katherine differently than Stefan did. To Damon, she was sacred. But to Stefan, she was nothing more than poison.

"He called me Katherine when I ran into him outside the Grill," He didn't look all that surprised. There was something he was hiding, holding back vital information. I needed to interrogate harder. "What's wrong with him? He was weak and looked like he was dying, but that can't be the case, since he is immortal."

Stefan took a vile off of the counter that I was standing beside, "It's an herb called vervein. It stops compulsion and it burns our skin, weakens us."

I bit my lip, "And Damon was inhaling it for how long? How long has he been like that?"

"Why doesn't any of this sound surprising to you?"

I picked up a knife in my hand and twirled it around. I could defend myself with a knife, I took defense classes with Tyler. They show you all sorts of things. Punches, kicks, knife wielding, how to shoot a gun. Although, whenever I held a gun in my hand; I still felt powerless.

I raised my head and pursed my lips together, "I guess it would take a lot more than a vampire to frighten me."

* * *

I decided to go home, but halfway there, I realized I didn't have anywhere to go. I could go home, but it would mean facing Elena. I wasn't ready to forgive her and tell her about what happened with Tyler quite yet. I couldn't go over Tyler's because I'm supposed to hate him. I should hate him. But I can't. Matt's would be the best option, but for some reason, I couldn't find myself going there.

I turned around and bit the inside of my lip before walking back to the Salvatore House.

I walked through the front door, "Stefan? Are you still home?"

I heard footsteps from the living room, so I rounded the corner. But the footsteps sounded too loud, too confident. I kept my eyes glued to the floor, "Stefan, I'm sorry for just barging in but I didn't know where else to go." Damon was standing at his wine cabinet, drinking Bourbon. I gulped, "Damon."

He placed his glass down, "Sorry about our run in earlier. But you'll forget all about it in a few seconds."

He started to walk towards me and I backed up into the door, banging my heel against the wooden frame. I winced and he watched me carefully, "Don't Damon. I know all about you. Compulsion and Katherine, you're a vampire."

He stopped directly in front of me and tilted his head to the side, "And you don't seem afraid."

I shook my head, "I'm not."

He smirked and looked down delicately, giving me a long look over. My jaw clenched tightly. "That's not what your heart is saying. I can hear each muscle pounding and contracting in your chest. Your blood rushing from your veins," His voice was taunting. He knew what buttons to push and he pushed on them, _hard._ He placed his hand on my waist, his fingers brushing the bare skin peeking through my shirt. "Are you sure you're not scared?"

I looked straight into his eyes, "You wouldn't hurt me. I know you better than you think, Damon."

He laughed darkly to himself, "That's where you're wrong, Malina. I'm a bad person, I do horrible things with no remorse. I killed your history teacher and used your best friend as my own personal blood bag. I would do it again and again and again. I'm a vampire and I want to drink every ounce of blood from your veins right now."

His hand was still on my side, his mouth inching towards my neck. "Then why aren't you?"

He raised his hand, waving his fingers. The ring that was normally placed on his middle finger was gone, leaving his hand bare. "I need my ring from Stefan and I can't risk it by killing his girlfriend's twin sister. Now can I? But believe me," He whispered in my ear hungrily, "You'll be my first stop once I get it back."

I pulled away and moved his hand off of my waist. "You're an ass. Why did I ever feel an attraction towards you?"

His face lit up and I wanted to run away immediately after I said it. "An attraction, huh?" He stepped closer and dilated his eyes into mine, "Tell me your dirtiest thoughts about me."

I could feel myself beginning to answer under his will. I couldn't fight it, not matter how hard I tried. "I want to taste you," I admitted. His face mused and pushed me against the wall and his hands pinned mine under his, above my head.

I squirmed under him for a few moments, until I felt myself relax. My breaths grew heavier and he licked his lips before returning back into a smirk. He trailed his fingers along my side, resting his palm on my hip. Clutching my skin between his fingers. "Continue," He quirked an eyebrow and I was mentally screaming at myself to stop.

But I couldn't. "I want to know the sensitive parts of you – what makes you tick and tremble. I want you to beg for more. I want you to lose yourself between my legs." He put his finger to my lips shushing me and I was thankful that he did because I wasn't even sure where I was going with this. I never even knew I conjured up all these thoughts about him.

His finger slid down my lips gingerly, the touch was electrifying leaving the impact tingling my skin. "Sh," I nodded my head and he brushed my hair out of my brown eyes. He bit his bottom lip and I let out a moan, which I wasn't positive where it came from. He flashed a devilish grin, "I think that can be arranged, baby."

I gritted my teeth once I cleared the trance, "What are you going to do to me?" I asked, leaning my head against the wall. I stared at him and he ran his fingers through my hair, tangling them within my strands.

"Kiss me," He spoke softly and I leaned forward. I meshed my lips against his and he released my hands, so I knotted them in his dark hair. He pulled away and I frowned at him, "What's with that judgy little face that you Gilbert twins possess?"

I pushed his chest forcing him away from me, "You're such a dick. Do not compel me ever again," I pointed in his face.

He opened a drawer behind him and pulled something out, a necklace. He unclamped the latch and I raised my eyebrows before folding my arms. "I won't now that I know what you think about me. Very nice wording too, very poetic."

I narrowed my eyes on his, "What do you want from me now?"

He grabbed my arm and spun me around, so my back was facing him. I felt his hands wrap around my neck and he clasped the necklace together. The cool metal dangled against my bare skin, sending shivers all over my body. He turned me back around by my shoulders, "No more compulsion. That necklace," He touched it lightly and I chewed on the inside of my lip, "It will protect you."

"Like Elena's that Stefan gave her." I pulled my eyebrows together, "Wait. Why are you being so nice to me? I thought you had a death wish for me and you wanna steal your brother's girl? I had you all figured out."

He shrugged, "Well consider my kindness as a curveball. You can think you know all about me, but you don't. You never will."

I glanced over and noticed Vicki on the couch, I didn't know how I didn't notice her sooner. "Really? Vicki Donovan? If you hurt her; I swear to God, I will kill you."

He shook his hands in the air mocking me, "I'm so scared." His face returned to a normal smirk that I wanted to smack off of him. "Honestly, your threats mean nothing to me."

I backed up and out the door, "Well maybe you should find something that you actually do care about. It's a horrible way of life if you choose to hate everyone and everything." He blinked a few times without answering. For the first time, I rendered Damon Salvatore speechless. "I would know, I've done it before."

He ignored me, but I knew he heard what I actually said. "Good night, Malina."

* * *

When I got home and opened the door, Elena fell backwards. I closed it quickly and dove onto the ground beside her. "Lena?" She had her head in her hands and she was crying hysterically. "Elena, look at me. Are you okay?"

I kneeled in front of her and placed my hands on her knees. She looked up at me, "I can't be with him. I can't."

I pulled her towards me, "Sh. It will all be okay, we'll get through this. We always get through it together."

She shook her head, "This is different." She wiped her tears, trying to be strong. She always strived to be the strong one in our family, the responsible one since she was the oldest. I rubbed her arm lightly, "He's not good for me."

I smiled sadly, "You don't have to be vague. I know what they are. But Stefan would never hurt you. He cares about you, even Damon, the monster with no soul, he cares about you." She stared at me, "How do you know?"

I shrugged, "I saw Damon on the street after Stefan locked him up. I asked Stefan about it and he gave me the answers I needed. So did Damon."

"They can come into our house whenever they want. We invited them in," I wiped her tears away from her cheeks. Her voice was small. She was vulnerable. "What are we going to do?"

I chuckled and shook my head, "Move." She laughed a little bit, as well. It wasn't her normal laugh, the one that's contagious and extends on her entire face. I pulled her into a hug, "We'll be okay, Elena. We're always okay."


	7. Chapter Seven

_Author's Note:_

_Hey everyone! Here's the next chapter. I hope you enjoy. I'll post the next chapter when this gets to at least 40 reviews, so please leave what you guys think. Thank you so much for reading!_

* * *

**_To all of you who've wronged me.  
_****_I am, I am a zombie.  
_****_Again, again, you want me to fall on my head._**

**Chapter Seven – One Wrong Move**

Halloween used to be my favorite holiday. Just like school used to not feel like a prison cell where I was locked to think about my life. That was my biggest problem. Sitting in a classroom, all my thoughts surfaced into my brain and I over-thought everything. One of my downfalls.

The bell rang and I walked to my first class, I saw Matt at his locker so began my stride to him. Tyler walked up to him and leaned against the locker beside his. Matt continued stuffing books into his locker, not even glancing towards Tyler. I swallowed hard and stopped in my tracks. _You can do this, Malina. It's been over a month since the incident._

I swatted my brown hair over my shoulder and strutted over to them. "What are my two favorite guys up to?" I slouched against the locker on the other side of Matt. I stared over at the two of them and pulled on the strap of my schoolbag.

Tyler looked at Matt, "I heard they were putting together a search party for Vicki."

Matt looked up at him for a millisecond, "She just called. She's okay."

"Well good, that's great." Tyler nodded his head repeatedly and never looked my way once. It was like I wasn't even standing there. Neither made an effort to talk to me, or even acknowledge me for that matter. "I figured you must've been going out of your mind."

Matt had no expression on his face, he was unreadable. I've never seen Matt like this, a statue. I didn't know where he head was at, he hasn't talked to me for a while. Not like we used to. "A little bit, yeah."

Tyler's face strained, "I was just gonna offer. You know, if there's anything I could do."

I touched Matt's arm when he didn't respond. He exhaled and turned to look at Ty, "I appreciate it." He turned towards me and smiled lightly, "How have you been?"

Tyler cleared his throat, "It's been a while, Mali."

I snickered and an eye roll followed, "Yeah. Since the Founder's Celebration. Too bad it couldn't have been longer." It came out harsher than I expected, I wasn't even sure I was the one saying it for a second. But by the way Tyler face drained of color, I knew I said it out loud.

He stepped towards me, maneuvering his way around Matt. "Can we please talk?"

I wanted to say no. I opened my mouth to neglect his offer, but then it flashed through me. His bloody hands. His plea for my help. I swallowed hard and tensed a shoulder, "Sure."

We walked through the crowd of people huddled in the hallway before first period. We walked into Mr. Mac's classroom, I trailed my hand along a desk in the front of the room. Scratched into the wooden desk were initials. M.G. + T.L. I snapped my eyelids shut until white speckles were forcing their way into the corners of my eyes. I looked over at him, "Nice room selection, Ty." His face hardened and I bit the inside of my cheek, "I'm sorry." He nodded his head forward in a quick movement and I jumped on top of the desk with our initials carved into it. My usual routine for when we snuck into this classroom to be alone. "So you wanted to talk?"

He kept his distance, a lot more distance than usual. It was like he was afraid that if he got too close, he was going to hurt me. His eyes weren't meeting mine. "I never apologized about that night. What I did to you," He rubbed his head over his mouth and kept staring at the floor.

I crossed my arms, "I really don't want to talk about it. I definitely don't want to think about it."

"We need to."

I shook my head furiously, "We shouldn't be having a conversation like this. This shouldn't have been a thing that happened. You almost raped me, Tyler!" My voice heightened the more we talked about it.

He looked around the room, his guilt was eating at his nerves. Paranoia running in his head like there were people around us, listening to us. "Can we not say that word out loud?"

I laughed mechanically, I didn't know where it came from. "You can't even sat the word out loud, but you expect me to forgive you for it? Smooth, Ty. Real smooth," I pushed myself off of the desk and stormed past him. Bumping into his shoulder with my own.

He grabbed my wrist but I freed myself angrily from his grip. "I don't want to say it because that's how horrible it was. I know I don't deserve your forgiveness, but I need it. I can't keep living like this."

I tightened my jaw, scared that if I didn't think about what I would say, I wouldn't be able to control myself. My mom always told me to think before I spoke. I had an act for saying things I shouldn't. "Are you scared whenever you're in a room full of strangers? Paranoia that someone is going to attack you." He looked away, proving my point. "I didn't think so."

Tyler opened his mouth, but let his jaw hang open. Not knowing what to say, I wasn't even sure there was something he could say. "You snapped me out of it, you know. Out of the rage that I've been getting recently. I'm always so angry. But you snapped me back to reality. I don't know why I keep blacking out when I get pissed, but I do. I can't stop it. I don't want to be this way, Malina."

I nodded, "You should probably get help then."

He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck, his nervous action. The glint in his eye, "Can we please just move forward from all of this. You can continue hating me, but I need you in my life. I don't want to play this stranger game."

His eyes were lighter than last time I really looked into them. When he was attacking me, his eyes were almost black. Now the yellow iris was back and shining in the shitty classroom light. I looked around the room, "I guess so. We can move forward, as friends."

He nodded his head and extended his hand, "Friends."

I didn't take his hand and he pulled his away awkwardly before stuffing it into his pockets. I gulped and looked away, "Are you going to the Haunted House tonight?" He gave me a pointed look, "Of course you are."

He smiled, "Hopefully I will see you there. We can make our debut as friends."

I laughed, "Like Ross and Rachel." I closed my mouth the moment the words left my throat. I rubbed my forehead, "Maybe not exactly like them."

He joined it, lightening the air. "I'm definitely more of a Joey anyway. Who are you going to dress as this year?"

I shrugged, "Care and Bonnie are going as witches. Elena will probably end up using hers from last year. I didn't plan on going, but Caroline talked me into it. I guess I could rummage an outfit together last minute though."

He tilted his head to the side and his eyes lit up, "Wear plaid and be a Winchester. Every time we watched the pilot, you always said you could be a Winchester. You'd make a pretty awesome Sammy Winchester."

I pushed my hair away from my face, "Great idea! I am so doing it."

The classroom door opened and Mr. Mac walked into the room. When he saw us, his face immediately turned into a crooked frown. He crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes on the two of us, "Mister Lockwood and Miss Gilbert. When will you dwindle-minded, hormonal teenagers understand that this room is not for your own personal time? Did you two learn your lesson last year or should we repeat it once again?"

I shook my head and grabbed Tyler's arm, "We were just leaving, Mr. Mac. No worries and no need for detention!" I flashed a smile before we ducked out of the room in a fit of laughter and walked to our first period together, like old times.

* * *

I stood with Bonnie and Caroline, both dressed as witches. I had a plaid shirt on with my sleeves rolled up and a blank tank top underneath. A pair of jeans and a pair of brown combat boots to match. I had a toy gun in the back of my jeans.

Caroline kept staring at my outfit, "I don't get it at all."

I rolled my eyes and huffed out a breath, "How are we even best friends?" I inhaled, getting ready to explain why I dressed in all plaid. Tyler interrupted me before I could begin, "She's a Winchester. From her favorite show, Supernatural. I guess she only tortures her boyfriends into watching it."

"Shut up, you know you loved it," I hit his stomach without looked at him, but only felt his bare skin. I turned to look at him and he looked ridiculous. He was shirtless with a cape tied around his neck, "What on earth are you supposed to be?"

He held out two glasses, "Cider for the ladies. It's a Lockwood special," He narrowed his eyes.

Bonnie shook her head, "Oh, no way. Last year, I was hung over until Thanksgiving."

Caroline and I stepped forward at the same time, both taking a drink out of his hands. "Lightweight," We mocked in unison then began to laugh. Caroline looked at me, "I am going to drink until someone is hot enough to make out with."

Tyler nodded, "Sounds like a plan." They clinked their cups together, "What about you?" He looked my way and grinned like a child, "Saving people, hunting things?"

I smirked, "Sorry. I can't talk family business outside the workplace."

Caroline rolled her eyes, "Can you two be any more obvious? Get a room and make out already."

I shook my head and pulled the cup to my lips to take a sip, "Believe me. I have done my share of making out this past month to last a lifetime. I am being good tonight. Enjoying it with my friends," I looked at Tyler and he clinked his cup against my and we both took a gulp.

I glanced around the room and Caroline spoke up, "Has anyone seen Elena?" She grumbled and stomped her feet obnoxiously. "She told us that she would meet us here. No more mourning from the Gilbert clan."

I shot her a dirty look, "I can't find Matt, either. He hasn't texted me back all night."

Tyler stiffened when I mentioned Matt's name. I forgot how much that hurt him. My time with Matt felt so far in the past that sometimes I forget that it even happened. We stopped hooking up shortly after the car wash and went back to just being best friends. "He's been avoiding me. Still pissed about," Tyler dragged off and Caroline jerked her head back and forth, "About?"

I pulled on her arm, "it's nothing important, Care."

She crossed her arms, being her stubborn and nosy self. "Well apparently it is," She insisted noticing how tense this conversation made Tyler. "So spill," She darted her eyes back and forth between Tyler and I. Bonnie wasn't as persistent as Caroline, but her facial expressions mirrored Caroline's curiosity.

He rubbed the back of his neck and I touched his side lightly, trying to make him relax. "I'm not really comfortable talking about it."

I rolled my eyes and decided to lie. My past two months have been full of nothing but lies and betrayal, might as well add some more to the pile while I'm at it. "We hooked up after the Council Party and Matt got jealous. He got an attachment," I pinched my fingers together like quotation marks. "He's still bitter about it to Tyler," Tyler furrowed his eyebrows together in confusion but I shot him a look.

Bonnie placed her hands on her hips, "You two hooked up again?"

Matt walked over and his jaw dropped, "What?"

I spun around on my heel and bulged out my eyes, "_Just agree!_" I mouthed to him and he nodded his head slightly that you could barely tell. Caroline shrugged a shoulder, "Malina is getting around. Am I next?" She winked towards me and I laughed and looked away from her, "I'm definitely next."

I slung my arm around her shoulder, pulling her closer to me. "You bet your sweet ass, you are."

Tyler nudged my ribs with his elbow, "Don't sleep with her though, Care. Or else you're as good as dead." I whispered in Caroline's ear, "More Supernatural jokes that you wouldn't understand. I think our cups are calling for a refill."

Tyler grinned at me, "I have the Lockwood special in my pocket when you get back." He turned towards Matt and Bonnie and they erupted into a conversation of their own. It felt like things were going back to normal. Slowly, but surely.

We walked over to the caldron of fruit punch in the center of the gymnasium. I picked up the spoon and pour the juice into Caroline's cup. She cleared her throat and straightened up, "So you and Tyler, or you and Matt?" I looked up and gave her a blank glare. "I just want to know what's going on in my best friend's mind."

I shoved my right hand into my pocket, "It's not like that with either of them. Okay?" I snapped, I didn't mean to. "I'm sorry, but I'm just not in the mood to talk about it."

She shook my arm, "I just want to know." I shook my head, "You don't tell me anything anymore. I had to learn about you sleeping with Matt through Bonnie. Do you know how humiliating that is, learning something that freaking important from someone else? And now Tyler, a month later? When did you start keeping so many secrets?"

_The day my parents died. _I shoved that thought away, back into the darkest parts of my mind. I needed to earn her trust back, I needed her on my side. I huffed out, "It's complicated and I just don't want to drag you into it. So please, can we drop it." I looked over and saw Damon standing a few feet away, eyeing me up. "I have to be somewhere."

She flailed her arm in front of her, "Fine."

I saw Damon walking away, down a hallway. I dashed away from Caroline to catch up with him. I stood behind him in a matter of seconds. For a vampire, he's not a very fast one. Or he was waiting for me, because he stopped when I was right behind him. Like he knew that I would follow him. "Warrior Princess, nice to see you."

I pulled my gun out of the back of my jeans and held it against the back of his head, "Don't move or I'll shoot you," I smirked.

He turned around quickly and dismantled the gun out of my grasp and placed it in the back of his pants. I frowned, "Nice try, but next time. Use a real gun, sweet heart. And aim for the heart."

I held out my hand for the gun, "Hand it over, Damon." I took in his appearance. It was definitely something he pulled out of the back of his closet. Shaggy hair, leather jacket. He looked like a greaser. "What's with the greaser look, Pony Boy?"

"Ha ha, and what are you supposed to be? Hunters don't dress like that in the real world. But by all means, think you're in Supernatural. Although, dead man's blood has no effect on us."

I scoffed, "You know Supernatural?"

He shrugged lightly, "Everyone has an itch they need to be scratched. That just happens to be mine. But," His voice turned into his usual flirty tone and his eyebrows raised and his eyes narrowed, "We both know about yours."

I looked up, rolling my eyes into the back of my head. "Will you ever give up on that? You compelled it out of me for your own vicious gain so you could ridicule me with it!"

His lips turned into a side smirk, "Perhaps. I can't really get the truth out of you anymore." He tapped on the necklace that was wrapped around my neck, "Since I decided to be the good guy for once and protect you."

I swallowed hard and touched the necklace when he hand drifted away. I could still feel the warmth of his touch on my skin. "Still don't know why you did that." His eyes diverted to the ground quickly and I chuckled, "That is unless you share the attraction."

He leaned forward and growled in my ear lowly, "If I wanted to taste you, I'd have a different way to do it." He snapped his teeth together and I flinched. He pulled away laughing and ran a finger through my hair, "Though both thoughts do sound quite tempting."

We both stared at one another, flicking our eyes from each other's eyes to lips. He licked his lips slowly, indicating what he wanted to do next. Which I was totally up for. Kissing Damon was different, consuming in a sense. I lost myself but at the same time, I felt in complete control.

I leaned forward, our lips centimeters apart when I heard his phone start to ring. He groaned and pulled out his phone from his pocket, "Steffy. You know the best times to interrupt." His stance changed and he nodded his head, "Yeah. Okay. I'll be right there." I gave him an odd look and he sighed, "Sadly, this night has to be cut short. Although, I think we both knew where it would end," He wiggled his eyebrows. "Stefan needs me. You should go home. They'll need you there."

I touched his arm, "Why what happened?" He didn't answer. "Damon, give me an answer. What happened?"

He vanished right in front of my eyes and I spun around. He was nowhere. I stormed down the hallway and Matt ran into me, "Have you seen my sister?" I shrugged my shoulders, glancing around the room. There were too many people at the haunted house to find one person. Which made my search cease from importance. "She bailed on me."

I touched his face with my hand, "Everything will be fine. I promise, Matt. If I see her, I'll let you know." I stepped away from him, knowing I just lied. _Again_. Vicki is missing. _Again._ Damon's random disappearance. _Again. _Elena's banning Jeremy from seeing Vicki. _Again. _Something went terribly wrong._ Again. _

Tyler ran up to me, "Hey! You aren't leaving already, are you?"

I ran my hand up my arm, "I need to go. But um," I closed my eyes tightly before continuing. "How drunk are you?" He shook his head, saying he wasn't drunk at all. I breathed in a mild breath, "Would it be any trouble if I asked for a ride? Could you drive me home?"

He ran his hand down my arm, "Yeah. Yeah, okay. No problem. I just gotta get my keys out of my locker. Want to walk with me? Tell me what's going on?"

I agreed and we walked down the hallway, crowded with people dressed in different costumes. Superheroes, anime characters, the cast of the Jersey Shore. I kept my eyes glued in front of me, "This whole friend thing. How's it working out for you?"

I snuck a peak at him, but his eyes were already studying me. "It's weird, just talking to you as a friend. I thought it would be easier, but the more I thought about it. We were never friends to begin with. We were pushed together in the sixth grade by our parents. Who thought this is where we'd end up?"

He stopped in front of his locker and plugged in his combination. My birthday. His football number. How many rocks were skipped at Caroline's lake house our first visit as a couple. 22-1-9.

"I don't mean to bring up old times but we were a power couple. You had the beauty and the brains and I had the strength and the ego for the both of us." I laughed at him, "I do miss it sometimes."

I breathed out, "So do I." I blinked a few times, "Thinks were just easier. We had plans and dreams. Yale and moving in together. Getting a puppy and naming him Tobias."

He grabbed his keys and a jacket and held it under his arm and shut his locker, "Sometimes I wish things stayed on track."

"We should get going."

We walked to his car in silence. I climbed into the passenger seat, like I've done thousands of times before. I slumped against the seat and stared out the window. He handed me his jacket and I held it closely against my chest, it smelled like him. He started the car and looked over at me, "What's the emergency anyway?"

I turned towards him and jolted my shoulders, "I have no idea. Damon left a very vague message." He made a sour face when I mentioned Damon. No one knew I even talked to Damon before, especially not kissed him. And wished to kiss him again. He turned left at the corner of the Grill and muttered quietly to himself, "Damon."

We arrived out front of my house and he parked against the curb in his usual parking space. Stefan was standing on the porch, leaning his back against the stone wall. I climbed out of the car, mumbled a quick thank you and ran to Stefan. "What's wrong? Where's Elena?" He didn't flinch at her name so I relaxed. "Jeremy?"

He sighed, "Vicki's dead. I had to stake her, she tried to kill Elena." I blinked a few times – not processing what I was just told._ Vicki Donovan could not be dead. My best friend's sister could not be dead._ "Jeremy is upstairs in his room, talking to Elena. You might want to talk to him too."

I ran inside and up the stairs, taking three steps at a time. I ran into Jeremy's room and he was crying. Elena sitting in front of him, trying to comfort him. I sat behind him and wrapped my arms around his shoulders and held him close. "I mean, I know what I saw but I don't understand."

Elena rubbed his arm, "She was going to kill me."

Jeremy kept crying, tears running down his cheeks. He was shaking back and forth slowly. I rubbed his shoulders and leaned my forehead on his back, "And now she's dead. Vicki's dead."

"I'm so sorry, Jeremy." Elena went to pull him into her embrace, but he pushed her off of him. He shook his head and Elena gave me a look, wondering why it's okay that I comfort him, but not her.

He looked up at her for a few moments, "Make it stop. It hurts." He placed his face in the hook of his elbow. His arms were folded around his bent knees. I rubbed his arms, "Sh. It's okay, Jer. It's okay." He looked up at Elena then glanced back towards me.

"Why does everyone have to die on me?" He asked innocently. Elena pulled him into a hug and I leaned my head against him. She ran her hand through his hair, trying to help him calm down.

"You have us, Jeremy." He began to sob into Lena's shoulder. "You will always have us."

Elena stood up and walked down the stairs to rejoin Stefan outside. I took Elena's spot to sit in front of Jeremy. "I just want to be happy, Mali."

I played with the top of his hair, "I know, Jeremy. I know what you're going through way too well." I felt tears welling in my eyes, "We're too young to be going through all of this. We're supposed to be making mistakes and learning from them."

He sniffled, "Thank you for not leaving me this summer. I wouldn't have been able to handle it."

I felt like I just got punched in the stomach. All the wind got shoved out of me like a vacuum. I almost forgot about my break down when I almost took my own life. I swallowed hard and took Jeremy's hand. "I'm never leaving. Okay? You're stuck with me and Elena forever."

He looked up and stopped crying so hard, "I love you."

The door opened and Damon walked into the room. I stood up immediately, out of instinct, and placed myself between the two of them. I knew what Damon was capable of and I knew how fragile Jeremy was feeling right now. I had to take part as the middle man. "What the hell do you think you are doing in here?"

He motioned for me to get out of the way so I folded my arms across my chest and stood my ground. "Malina, move. I need to speak with the Little Gilbert."

I shook my head furiously, "Uh-uh. No, I know why you're here and you are not doing it. He needs to move on."

He pushed me out of the way, "That's what I'm trying to help him do." I fought him off of me, "Don't make me compel you too."

I pulled on my necklace, "Vervein that you supplied me with. Remember?"

He grabbed the back of my neck and forced me to look up at him, "I gave it to you, so how do you know it's not a fake? How do you know that I only made you believe that it was vervein to earn your trust?"

"Because you wouldn't be telling me that right now. You're smart, Damon. I know you better than that. So please, don't erase his memories. Don't listen to Elena," I pleaded.

He turned around and zoomed to Jeremy, taking his head in his hands. "Jeremy, you will listen closely," He started rattling off a lie that Elena surely fed him with. Once he was done, he walked out of the bedroom and into the hallway. I followed him out. I pushed him so he would face me and slapped him across the face. Hurting my hand more than his cheek, "I told you not to!"

He grabbed my arms and pushed me against the wall forcefully, "I had to. I had no other choice, Elena needed him to forget. Do you have any idea how difficult it is to choose between two bickering Gilbert's? It was either you or Elena."

I nodded my head and bit my lower lip, "And it's always going to be Elena."

I shrugged him off of me and took a step backwards talking down the hallway and towards the staircase. I felt his hand grab mine and his touch was strong enough to get me to stop walking. "I never said that," He spoke solemnly.

I turned my head enough just so I could look at him. I swallowed hard, "Yeah. Well you said enough."


	8. Chapter Eight

_Author's Note:_

_Please continue to leave your thoughts and enjoy!_

* * *

**_I messed up this time, late last night.  
Drinking to suppress devotion with fingers intertwined.  
I can't shake this feeling; now we're going through the motions, hoping you'd stop.  
And though I've only caused you pain, you know, but all my words were always beloved.  
Although all the lies we spoke, when you're on my road walking me home, home, home, home.  
See the flames inside my eyes, they burn so bright; I wanna feel your love._**

**Chapter Eight – Messed Up**

I sat on the edge of the seat in the police station. Sheriff Forbes has been rounding up anyone who has had any contact with Vicki the past few days. At least, the ones she could round up. Elena, Jeremy, Stefan, Matt, and me. We were all being questioned individually and I was going to be last. Jeremy was in there right now.

I kept fidgeting my hands and pulling the dark red nail polish from my nails. Cashton was sitting behind the desk, watching me carefully. I ripped another piece of my nail polish off, but a piece of my nail came off in the process. I gasped and sucked on the tip of my finger, trying to stop the bleeding. "Careful over there, I don't want to be wiping blood off of the floor all morning." I looked up and met his green eyes and gave him a small smile.

I took a deep breath and walked over to the desk, leaning my weight against it. "Don't you ever get tired of sitting behind a desk all day?" I questioned and he wrote something down on his notepad before reclaiming eye contact. "Especially when your sister is doing rounds of the town daily with Sheriff Forbes."

He shrugged, "She enjoys doing the physical aspect of the police force. I'm more of a detective. Give me a list of murders and I would be likely to find a connection. I watch a lot of television, criminal minds and SVU."

I laughed, "Spencer Reid is my boy. His mental capacity is mind-boggling."

His eyes lit up, "Exactly what I say! Callie always makes fun of me, they don't understand what it's like to be committed into a fictional world. Playing through the scenarios in your head and coming up with a list of probabilities. It's not only fun to watch, but it's insightful."

"Please don't tell me that he found someone he can talk geek with," A blonde girl walked out of one of the offices. She wasn't in uniform. A black tank top with a pair of dark jeans. Her blonde hair flowing down her back and her green eyes were shining in the fluorescent light. "I'm Callie," She extended her hand towards me and I shook it firmly.

I gave her a warm smile, "Malina Gilbert."

She nodded her head as if she knew my name, "Ah. You're one of the Gilbert kids, I'm sorry about your parents. It's a shame what happened to them," I darted my eyes towards the ground. "Sorry, I shouldn't have brought it up. Your brother is being questioned right now, right?"

I looked up, "Yeah. He should be done soon. Then it's my turn," I twirled my hand in the air blankly. They both managed to chuckle and I cleared my throat, "I never really knew Vicki too well. Sure, when Elena and Matt dated, both of our families got together regularly. But she was more of a loner. Didn't really talk to any of us until this year when she started taking an interest in Jeremy."

Callie nodded her head and Crash spoke up, "I'm guessing you weren't too fond of an older woman dating your baby brother."

Callie scolded him by smacking his arm, "Cas! I'm sorry about him, sometimes he doesn't have a filter. He just says whatever comes to mind."

I laughed, "I got that from him."

He stared at me innocently for a few moments, "How have you been, Malina? Since everything that happened at the Founder's Celebration." I shifted uncomfortably and pulled at the sleeve of my denim jacket, "I'm just worried about you."

I shrugged my shoulders and Callie gave us an odd look, "Everything is better now. Trying to forget about the entire thing, to be completely honest. He is one of my best friends, I can't hold a grudge forever."

The door opened up and I followed Jeremy leaving the interrogation room with my eyes. He looked over to me and gave me a small, but forced smile. I knew he was having a hard time coping with this. He didn't even know the truth. Sheriff Forbes walked into the room and her eyes caught mine. I saw Aunt Jenna walk over to Jeremy and they sat down on the benches outside the office. Elena stood to the side of them.

"Malina," Sheriff called to me and I darted my eyes into her direction, "Are you ready?"

I walked over to her and into the room, she closed the door behind us. I sat down on the chair and she sat across from me – with a pen and paper. Writing down everyone's responses so she could match the stories. Cashton would probably volunteer to help her since he liked these kind of things. Although, a missing persons isn't all that interesting.

She let out a slight breath and clicked the tape recorder on and I stared at it, watching it spin. I closed my eyes and I could hear to tape clicking every time it came a full circle. "State your name," She began and I sighed, "Malina Avery Gilbert."

"Where did Vicki say where she was going?"

I scratched the top of the table with my index finger, "I never had a full conversation with her. I passed her talking to my brother at the Haunted House. They were walking off together."

"Did she tell her brother where she was going?"

"Not that I know of. She just picked up her bags and left."

Sheriff Forbes stared down at the list of questions she had to ask and skipped over a few that were irrelevant to this interview. _I didn't know anything. Or at least, I could play the part._ "Is there anyone I could talk to that might know what happened to her prior to her leaving town?"

I licked my lips slowly, "The only people that I am aware of her talking to would be Matt, Elena, and Jeremy."_ I didn't want to drag Tyler into this. One more person I could protect from the truth. Keeping them hidden with the lies._

"What was her behavior like those last few days before she left?" I shrugged, "Any signs of aggression or violence?" I shrugged once more, "So you believe that Vicki actually did leave town?"

I nodded my head and folded my hands together, "Yes."

She closed her notepad and clicked the tape recorder off, "Okay. Thank you for answering those questions, Malina. You are free to go now, I think that I'm done with interviews for the day."

I stood up from the chair and walked out the door and made my way to my family. Jeremy stood up immediately and I rubbed his arm, "Hey. How are you doing?" He shrugged lightly with a slight head bop, "It'll get better."

We walked out of the police station and I saw Matt storm away from Stefan after he tried saying something to Matt. Stefan locked eyes with Elena and she began to wander off in her direction. She turned around towards us, "I'll meet up with you guys in a second."

I pulled Jeremy's arm, "I'm going to go talk to Matt real quick. Wait for me," He nodded his head and I ran over to where Matt was. He was climbing into his truck, but I called to stop him. "Donovan! Wait up!" He looked over and saw me walking in his direction and stepped out of the truck, leaving the door open. He walked over to me and I placed my hand on his upper arm, "Are you okay?"

He shrugged, "I should be used to everyone leaving me by now. She was gone for a month and was back for one day before leaving again. It's just so random." He looked away sadly, "She should have never came back in the first place."

I slid my hand down his arm slowly, I wanted to tell him the truth. Damon picked Elena over me and erased Jeremy's memories. Damon turned Vicki into a vampire and Stefan had to kill her before she killed my sister. But I couldn't. "She'll come back eventually," I lied. "No one could stay away from those blue eyes for too long." I teased, in an attempt to lighten to mood.

* * *

I stepped onto the patio of the Salvatore House and knocked on the door. After a few seconds of no one answering, I stepped inside the house. It was empty and quiet and I immediately regretted coming. I don't even know what tempted me. "Damon? Are you home?"

I heard footsteps coming from the stairs, but they didn't sound like Damon. Too light on the toes and not as stompy. I took a step backwards getting ready to run out of the house and leave when I ran straight into someone. I turned around and Damon stood there smirking, "Going somewhere?"

I straightened myself and looked up at him, "No. I just wanted to stop by and see how you were doing. Elena is throwing herself a pity parade since she broke up with Stefan and I can't sit and watch. I sent Bonnie over to the house," I rambled and heard the other set of footsteps, the ones from the staircase, behind me. I turned my head just enough to see a blonde girl standing there with her hand on her hip. I raised my eyebrows and turned my attention back to Damon, "Oh. I wasn't aware that you had company. I'll just go then."

There girl stepped forward, "Aw. Did you bring us a snack?" She walked up behind me and pushed my hair off of my neck. My body began to shake. She brought her fangs to my neck but never bit down.

Damon grabbed my arm and pulled me towards him, out of the female vampire's reach. "So funny, Lexi. This is Malina," He introduced me to her. "Malina, this is Stefan's best friend – Lexi." It shocked me, she seemed more of a "Damon's friend" then one of Stefan's.

When I turned around to look at her completely, her eyes shot wide open. I furrowed my eyebrows together but she kept staring at me. I waved my hand in front of her face, "Is everything okay?"

She nodded, "Yeah. What was your name again? Kat-uh, Gina?"

Damon shot her a dirty look and I shook my head when I heard her begin to say Katherine. "No, I'm not Katherine. I'm Malina Gilbert." She was giving Damon a pointed look so I turned to question him more about Katherine, but he started to walk away.

I followed Damon down the hallway, "Care for a friend for the day?" He tilted his head to the side, weighing his options. "Be careful with that answer, Damon. You may not get another chance of having a friend in Mystic Falls," I squinted an eye momentarily, "Well that is, that's actually willing."

Lexi laughed loudly, her cackle booming around the mansion. "She's got a point there, Doctor Doom."

He ignored Lexi and opened the door to the basement, he held out his hand for me to pass him. "I have some errands to run if you'd like to join." I grinned and ran down the stairs. The basement was cold and dark, creaking noises coming from every corner. I looked over at him, but his eyes were glued on which direction we were moving. He stopped outside of a door and pushed it open. It revealed a cell room with a table of purple flowers in the middle. He coughed as we walked in, "Vervein."

I touched my necklace that was still chained around my neck and stared at the flowers. I picked one up in my hand and Damon tensed a bit. I waved it in his direction and he jumped back against the wall of the cell and I snickered. "Scared of a little flower, are we, Damon?"

He smacked my elbow, causing the plant to fall from my grip and onto the stone floor. He grabbed my arm and pushed me against the wall, "Not funny, Malina. This "flower" is one of a vampire's only weaknesses. I don't want it to get into the wrong hands."

"So why are we down here?"

He held open a box and signaled for me to walk closer, "I need your help collecting some for the town council. Mystic Falls' Officials are aware of the return of vampires and would very much like to be on the side of the council and not end up with stake through my heart."

I glared at him, "We'd all be better off if that was the case." He pushed me against the wall by my throat and I gasped out, "Damon."

He tightened his grip around my neck, digging his nails into my skin. I still hand a few petals of vervein in my hand and shoved it into his eye. He screamed out as his skin began to burn and I pushed him off of me. He released me so I dropped the vervein and let it fall to the floor, "I underestimated you," He managed to say, once the burning ceased.

I clenched my jaw, "Yeah you keep doing that." He stalked towards me, but I stood my ground. "I want to know more about Katherine." He rolled his eyes, "Not going to happen."

I huffed out an annoyed breath, "You are hiding something and I think I deserve to know the reason."

He shook his head, "You don't want to."

* * *

I ran up to Caroline who was wearing a purple dress and draped my arms around her shoulders. "Caroline Forbes, you party genius!" She laughed loudly, "This is going to be the biggest party of the year. It's so suave," I slurred.

She shrugged her shoulders like it was nothing, because to her – it was nothing. Word travels fast around Mystic Falls and Caroline being one of the most popular kids in school, it just took the right people to tell. She hugged my back, "I'm glad you're enjoying yourself."

I threw the rest of my glass back and she held me up, "Have you seen any of our friends here? I haven't seen any of our friends here and I have been here forever! I only see Damon," I pointed my finger at the back of his head.

Caroline laughed and took my glass out of my hands, "I think you've had enough. And Matt and Tyler should be around her somewhere. I saw them walk in together about ten minutes ago, I think." I scanned my eyes around the room and noticed Matt in the corner of my eyes, "Matty!"

He turned towards me and waved and Caroline patted my shoulder, "I need to talk to Bonnie about the necklace I gave her. Stay safe," She pointed at me as she walked away.

I stumbled towards Matt and he caught me in his arms, "Whoa there. How much have you had to drink?"

I jerked my shoulders obnoxiously and wrapped my arms around his shoulders, using him to support myself. Leaning in too closely and he pulled back, "I don't know. I lost count. The bartender was being very kind to me," He nodded his head and Tyler walked towards us. "Lockwood!"

I flailed my arms too suddenly that the rest of my body wasn't keeping up. I tipped over but Tyler grabbed my arms to steady me and Matt held my waist. "How much has she had?" He questioned Matt, "She's wasted."

Matt shrugged, "I just found her like this a few seconds ago."

I patted Tyler on the cheek and leaned to his ear and whispered, "She can hear you."

Tyler pulled me towards the booth and sat me down, pushing me to move over to the middle of the booth. He slid in beside me and Matt sat down across from the two of us. Like old time's. Tyler folded his arms and leaned back against his seat and stared over at me, "Want to tell us why you're drinking so much?"

Okay, I have been drinking a lot recently. A lot more than I ever have before. I used to only drink to have fun when I was at Caroline's lake house with Tyler. But as of recently, it's been a routine. I placed my cheek in the palm of my hand, "Trying to rid all of my insecurities. As you can tell, I'm not very happy with myself."

Matt grabbed my hand and I looked over at him in my haze. "And why is that, Mal?"

I rubbed my temples, "My head hurts. Why does my head hurt so much?"

Tyler put his arm around my shoulders and pulled me closer to him. I nuzzled my face into the crook of his neck and breathed in his scent. I never wanted to leave this position. If I could stay in one place for the rest of my life, it would be here. Drunk and not hiding behind all of my walls that I've put up, in the arms of my first love. "Talk to us," He spoke softly, "We're your best friends."

I slammed my hand on the table and pulled away from him and my mini paradise drifted away. "That I screwed. I screw everyone and I don't mean to be this way. I want to be good. I try so hard, but it's never enough. I'm never enough."

Tyler forced me to look at him, grabbing the bottom of my chin with his index finger. I pouted, "We don't care about that anymore. It's over and done with. We just want _you_ to be happy." Matt grabbed a waiter and ordered some water for me, so I could sober up. I sat there until it came, staring at the table top. "You don't need to hide this from us, Mali. We would never judge you."

I clenched my jaw, "I'm sorry I'm such a mess."

Matt pushed away from the table, "I'll let you two talk."

Tyler pulled me against him again and I grabbed his hand and played with his fingers. An old habit that I guess I couldn't shake, especially when I was this drunk. I intertwined our fingers and I laid my head against his chest. His fingers combed through my hair, "Are you feeling any better?" The waiter came back with the glass of water and placed it on the table. Tyler picked it up and held it out for me. I took it with my free hand and started to drink it.

I took a deep breath and placed the half empty cup down on the table. I placed my head in my hand and stared at the table, "Why am I so stupid?"

"You're not stupid."

I picked my head up, "Yes I am, Tyler. I shut everyone out all summer when they only wanted to help. I shut you out and you were the best thing to ever happen to me and I ruined it. I ruined it and I can't even look at you the same anymore. I only see the guy whose heart I broke."

I felt tears welling up in my eyes and blew out a hot breath. He rubbed my back softly, "You didn't ruin anything. We moved past all of that. Matt, the avoiding, Vicki, the bickering, we're in a better place now. Even if you did break my heart, don't let that change how you see me. I'm still here, the same guy from a few months ago who would hold up the moon for you."

I giggled still bubbly from the vodka I was given. Vodka was my sad-drink, which explained my crying and anxiousness. I looked at Tyler, "The moon seems like it would be pretty hard to hold up for one girl."

His fingers grazed my arm, "Well you're not just any girl, Malina."

I looked over towards him and kissed his cheek, "Thank you, Tyler. This means a lot to me," He grinned back and squeezed my hand which were still intertwined. I pulled away and cleared my throat, "I need to use the bathroom. I swear, I'll be good and come right back."

He shook his head and slid out of the booth, "No. You don't need to come back, have fun tonight. Text me when you get home so I know that you got home safely. I'm going to go home, practice kicked my ass today."

I walked away from him and towards the bathroom. Once I was finished I left the room and looked around to find Caroline. I spotted her talking to Damon. They were too close. I felt jealous. _Why did I feel jealous? _Caroline grabbed the front of his jacket in her hands, but he pulled her off of him. I smirked to myself and strutted towards them. He whispered a few things at her and she stared blankly as he walked away. "Damon Salvatore, stop walking so fast!"

He slowed down allowing me to catch up to him. He gave me a five second glance and continued walking, "What can I assist you with, Miss Gilbert?"

I smiled and stepped in front of him, halting him. I ran my finger down his chest to the loop hole of his belt buckle and wrapped my finger around it. "I think you might have a couple guesses," I pulled on the belt buckle and pulled him closer to me.

He smirked down at me and licked his lips, leaning forward. "Malina?" I heard Matt and I turned around to look at him. Caroline was standing behind him, she looked hurt. Matt stared at me with stern eyes, "What are you doing?'

I pulled away from Damon and he jerked his head back before fixing his jacket. He started to walk away and I stared at him as he did so. Caroline shook her head and stormed away, "Caroline, wait!"

She ignored me so I grabbed her wrist and pulled her to stop. She turned around furiously and her eyes were teary, "Really? You're going after Damon now. The one who used me and just called me a shallow, waste of space."

I swallowed hard, "I've liked him since the first day of school. Before you even knew he existed. And Caroline, I'm sorry he said those things, but you should never listen to him. You are none of those things."

She shook her head, "Yeah. I am, Malina. You and Elena live these perfectly, tragic lives. Me, I'm shallow and neurotic. I'm never going to be anyone's first pick unless they want to toy with me. I will never get to be happy." Before I could say anything else, she was storming away from me and towards the bartender whom already gave me more than I needed.

* * *

I decided to walk around outside, trying to sober up completely. I left everyone else at the Grill. I took out my phone and hovered over Tyler's number. I could call him and ask to hang out. I truly wanted to. But I didn't want to play games and I still had to sort through my feelings with Damon. I couldn't lead Tyler on again. I decided to just text him.

_Hey, I just got home. Thank you for tonight, Ty. I forgot what it's like to have someone who cares about me at my worst. I'll call you tomorrow._

Simple and short, straight to the point. I decided to head over to the Salvatore residence. Finish what I started before Matt and Caroline interrupted me. _Caroline was only being insecure. She will get over it. Damon is worth it. _I told myself over and over again.

I knocked on the door and Damon answered it in a matter of seconds, like he was expecting me. He probably was. He probably has that effect on people. I stepped into the house, "Hey. About earlier," I took a deep breath and he leaned against the door amused, "I'm not good at this."

He smirked, "At what? Telling me about what you're feeling? That's why I like being a vampire, no feelings. I could turn it off, goodbye humanity. Or you know, I could just compel it out of you," He wiggled his eyebrows.

I shook my head, "Uh-uh. You are not doing that ever again. But could I ask you a question?" He rolled his eyes, knowing exactly where I was getting at. "Where did you get it from?"

He touched it lightly, I closed my eyes when I felt his warm touch. "Katherine, I bought it for her but never got to give it to her. I wanted to wait until I knew it was right, the right moment. But it never came along."

I swallowed hard, "Why did you give it to me then?"

He flicked his eyes to my lips, "You remind me of her. Your stubbornness and loyalty to what you care about. Although, you're not a raging bitch. But I wanted you to have it, I thought it was the right thing to do. So I filled it with vervein and gave it to the human who caught my attention," He lifted it off of my chest and inspected it.

"I caught your attention?" I laughed, but he frowned. "I'm nothing special, Damon. I'm just a useless human, who one day will die and you'll forget all about me. I will just be a memory, I'm not going to be anything like Katherine who stayed etched into your brain after all these years."

He dropped the necklace and it swung back down into place, "Why do you think so low of yourself?"

I bit the inside of my lip, "I don't like myself. I'm insecure and depressed," He trailed his fingers along the side of my face and I looked up at him. "I'm a ticking time bomb, just planning the right time to explode."

He shook his head, "Then don't explode."

He leaned down and took my face in both of his hands and he kissed me gently. It was different from before. Tender and lovingly. He touched me like I was some prized possession. I placed my hands on his sides and pulled him closer to me. I pulled away and he stared down at me, "Damon. I want you to turn me."


	9. Chapter Nine

_Author's Note:_

_Please keep leaving reviews! Thank you all for reading :) _

_Who else is excited for the season premiere tonight!?_

* * *

**_Staring at the bottom of your glass, hoping one you'll make a dream last.  
But dreams come slow and they go so fast.  
You see her when you close your eyes.  
Maybe one day you'll understand why – everything you touch only dies._**

**Chapter Nine – Unfolding**

_"Are you crazy, Malina? You don't want to be like this. You shouldn't want to be like this. I care about you too much to put you through it."_

I heard footsteps enter the room, but I kept my head leaning against the desk.

_ "I'm a big girl, Damon. I want this."_

My head was pounding.

_"Well you shouldn't."_

The footsteps ceased so I raised my head. "Good morning, everyone. Alrighty," The teacher chimed too chipper for this early in the morning. He began to write his name on the board and staring at the letters were making my head spin. "Alaric Saltzman, it's a mouthful. I know. It doesn't exactly roll off the tongue. You can just call me Ric. I'm your new history teacher."

I leaned over the aisle and nudged Elena's arm and mouthed in her direction, "_He's cute._"

She rolled her eyes and whispered back, "He's also, at least, twice your age."

I shrugged, "Age is just a number, Elena." I turned around to face her and slammed my hand on the desk as softly as possible, "And isn't Stefan like bazillion years old?" I turned back to stare at Ric. His hair was brown with light brown eyes, freckles covering his entire face. I placed my cheek in the palm of my hand, "I could definitely go for a teacher/student romance."

Alaric stood in front of my desk and cleared his throat, "Ladies. Do we have a problem here?"

I batted my brown hair loosely on my back and stared up at him. I flashed him one of my award-winning smiles and he stared back at me, "Of course not, Ric."

* * *

After class I found Caroline standing outside of the building by herself. Matt was walking away from her and she looked distressed. I patted her shoulder, "Please tell me that you still aren't angry about the other night. I was a huge asshole, I know." I pouted and she rolled her eyes, "What's wrong, Care?"

She shook her head, "Nothing that I can talk to you about."

I looked over at Matt then her over-fidgety self and my jaw dropped, "Wait! Did something happen between you and Matt? Oh my God, I need the details right now, Caroline Forbes. Get to spilling," I crossed my arms taking over her role of the persistent friend.

She sighed, "You can't get mad at me. But after our fight and Bonnie's fight, and everything that Damon said to me. I was having a downward pity party and Matt took my home and was being really sweet to me. I didn't want to be alone so he stayed with me and there was cuddling. I don't want to read into things, but now it's weird."

I laughed, "Yeah I wish I could say I've been there, but I usually skip the awkward cuddling stage and go straight to fucking." She tilted her head to side and I put my hands up in defense, "I'm trying to relate this situation with my own life. Sorry, hun."

"So you're not mad at me? Because I thought you would hate me."

I pushed her arm and shook my head, "No. Matt and I are over and done with. We were nothing anything serious to begin with, just friends with benefits."

* * *

I walked into the kitchen to find where Elena, Caroline, and Bonnie were gathered. "Hello, pretty ladies. Are you excited for this fine evening?" They all ignored me and I could feel the tension rising. Caroline snapped at Bonnie and Elena, "Why am I not in this conversation? You guys do this all the time."

"That's not true, Caroline."

Bonnie interrupted Elena and corrected her, "Yes it is, I can't talk to you. You don't listen."

Caroline shook her head frantically and looked in my direction, "That's not true!"

Bonnie straightened her posture and looked at Caroline seriously, "I'm a witch."

Caroline narrowed her eyes on her with crossed arms, "And don't we all know it."

"See! That's what I'm talking about. I'm trying to tell you something. You don't even hear it." Before anyone could add anything else to this fight, Bonnie stormed out of the room. We all exchanged looked and Caroline opened her moth, "I listen. When do I not listen?"

I nudged Elena's arm, "You go deal with Bonnie. I'll stay back and try to knock some sense into our more verbal best friend." Elena walked out of the room towards where Bonnie just ran off to. I turned to scold Caroline with my hands on my hips, "She was telling you the truth, Care. There's a lot that you don't know. A lot that we can't tell you yet."

She tilted her head to the side cockily, "Bonnie Bennett is a witch."

I nodded slowly, "Yes. She really is, Caroline. And now you need to swallow all of that rich and stubborn, Caroline pride and go in there. Fix this and make sure she's okay. And also, Matt. He's a good guy, so if you like him – tell him."

She smiled and touched my shoulder, "Are you sure you're okay with that?"

I jerked my head to the side and smirked, "Remember on Halloween when you asked Matt or Tyler? I was telling you the truth, it's not like that with either of them. Tyler will always be my first love. Sure, Matt and I had a minor thing, but that's over now. It's gone with the wind."

She hugged me tightly, "I love you. You know that, right?"

I rocked my shoulders and grinned at her, "Duh."

She walked off and Elena rejoined me in the kitchen. I propped myself up on the counter and she leaned against the cabinet. "How did you manage to get that to happen?"

I shrugged, "I know my best friend. I know what she's capable of, she just needed a little kick. So have you heard anything from Stefan?"

She shook her head sadly, "Nope. He's trying to talk to Damon, get his motives behind coming back to Mystic Falls out of him." I sighed, "Well if he finds out, I would like to know too. He keeps so many secrets."

She raised her eyebrows at me, "He's not the only one." She touched the necklace around my neck, "Where'd you get this necklace? It's beautiful. It looks antique."

I swatted her hand away and she gave me a pointed look. _I couldn't lie now or else the lie from the other night would fall apart._ I gulped, "Damon gave it to me. It has vervein in it."

She crossed her arms, "Damon Salvatore gave you a vervein necklace. Crazy killer, Damon Salvatore, whom probably kicks puppies to get a kick out of his own depressing life gave you a necklace that is full of vervein so you can't be controlled. Why?" I shrugged, "Why would he do something like that? He's messing with you."

I closed my eyes to remain calm, I knew this would be her reaction. She always shoots straight to the negative sides of people. "He was being nice, Lena. I don't really understand it either. He's different around me though."

She shook her head, disgusted with my answer. "Damon doesn't do nice. He killed Lexi and he hurt Caroline."

"And he's owned up to his mistakes. Please, Lena. Could you just this once not go into your psycho-analyzing judgy self?" She opened her mouth to protest when Caroline spoke from the other room, thankfully ending this conversation. "Elena, Mali. You guys can come in now. We're done." She walked out of the kitchen before me and I touched my necklace. _Yes, I've been doubting his motives behind this necklace. Of course, I have. But it's better to be safe than sorry. Plus, I've questioned him on it. I believe him._ I walked into the living room. Elena was sitting on the arm of the sofa so I sat down beside Caroline. "Well there is just **_way_** too much drama in this room. So what do you guys want to do?" We all shrugged, but then Caroline gasped excitedly. "I have an idea. Why don't we have a séance?"

Caroline shot out of her seat and started to walk around the room, coming up with a million different scenarios. Elena hesitated and Bonnie shook her head, "I don't think that's a good idea."

Caroline continued to pace around the room, "Come on! Let's summon so spirits." She walked up behind where I was sitting and placed her hands on my shoulders. She shook my lightly, "Tell them it's a good idea, Malina!"

"I don't know, Care." She frowned down at me so I sighed and stood up. I turned to look down at my twin and our witch friend, "It would be fun. We could interrogate some answers out of this bitch, Emily."

* * *

"What are we doing?" Elena asked and squeezed her hand harshly. We all sat around the table in a circle of the dimly lit room from the candles Bonnie lit. Bonnie stared at Elena, "I don't know."

"Sh!" Caroline hissed across the table. "Concentrate. Close your eyes," We all obeyed our blonde friend's request. "Now take a deep breath," I sucked in a long breath until I heard her speak again. "Now Bonnie, call to her."

"Emily, you there?" Bonnie called and we all opened our eyes to stare at Bonnie. "Really?" Caroline judged then tried her best Bonnie impersonation. "Emily, you there?"

I scolded her, "Caroline. Easy."

Bonnie rolled her eyes, "Fine. Geez." She closed her eyes again so we all followed her lead. "Emily. I call on you. I know you have a message. I'm here to listen." Nothing happened and it remained silent. The room was dark and gloomy, minus the collection of candles in the middle of us. I opened one eye to look at Caroline when the flames flickered and burned brighter. We all pulled away and I leaned back in my chair. "Bonnie, knock it off. This isn't funny!"

She looked over at me, "It's wasn't me!" She shrieked. Caroline sucked in a sharp breath and rubbed her arms. The room felt as though the temperature just dropped thirty degrees. "It's just the air conditioning." Bonnie assured her, but the flames grew higher again.

Caroline kept my hand in hers, but released Bonnie's. "Ask her to show you a sign. Ask her," Bonnie shook her head. "Emily, if you're among us, show us another sign." I squeezed her hand as she began to shake.

Bonnie kept staring as nothing happened for ten more seconds. "See, it's not working." We all looked around at each other and the window busted open. I screamed at the top of my lungs and Caroline dug her nails into my skin. Bonnie jumped out of her seat and pulled the necklace off and threw it onto the table. "You guys, I can't." Elena rushed out of her seat, "Turn the lights on." Elena flicked on the lights. Bonnie stared at the table, horrified. "Guys, the necklace – it's gone."

I moved the candles, "It was right there. I watched you throw it there!" I searched frantically. Bonnie ran her hand through her hair. "Well, it's not there anymore.

My phone started to ring and I jumped backwards, scared of the loud sound. I caught my breath and pulled the phone from my pocket and excused myself. "I need to take this outside. It's Jeremy," I looked at Elena and she nodded. "Okay, we're gonna start looking for the necklace in here."

I walked outside onto the porch and answered the call, "Jer. Hey what's up?"

He answered immediately, "I was at the Grill with Aunt Jenna. That new history teacher was there and I introduced them. They started flirting so I left. Could you come and pick me up please? I don't really feel like walking home alone."

I looked up into the sky and noticed how many stars were out tonight, "Yeah, of course. I'll leave now."

I heard screaming coming from upstairs and automatically jerked my head to where the noise was coming from. "What's all that screaming?"

I shook my head, "We were watching scary movies. You know how Bonnie gets. Caroline probably jumped out at her when she was coming out of the bathroom." The screaming stopped, "Okay. I'm leaving now. I just have to run inside and get the keys. Stay where you are."

I turned to walk into the house when the door suddenly opened and Bonnie walked out. She looked different. Her posture was strange and her face was stern. "Bonnie, where are you going?" She walked right past me without even acknowledging my existence and walked down the road. "Bonnie, come back!"

I pulled on the door and when it opened, Caroline screamed. They both looked terrified. Caroline ran her hand through her hair and shook her head, "I'm out of here."

I gave Elena a puzzled look and closed the door behind me, "What's going on?"

She pulled out her phone, "I need to call Stefan. Bonnie, she's being possessed by Emily or something." Turned to look back out the door to where she just walked by me. She did look like she was being controlled by the outside. Her movements were mechanical.

I grabbed the keys from the counter and turned back to her, "I need to go pick up Jeremy from the Grill. But text me where to meet you," I ran out of the house with my dad's car keys in hand. I unlocked his car from the garage and climbed into the front seat.

* * *

I beeped outside of the Grill and Jeremy emerged from the alleyway and climbed into the front seat. He ran his hand along the dusty dashboard, "This is weird being in this car. When I saw you pull up, I didn't realize it was you at first. This car hasn't been used since before the accident."

I nodded as we drove down the street, "I know, but I guess things needed to change. So Aunt Jenna and Mr. Saltzman, huh?" I snorted, "Go, Aunt Jenna."

He chuckled, "He seems like a good guy. He is giving me extra credit to pick up my grades."

I smiled at him wide, "Who are you and what have you done to my brother? That's great, Jer. What are you going to do it on?" He leaned his head back against the head rest, "It has to be about the town's history. Aunt Jenna said that dad had all these journals that have been passed through the generations. I might look at those."

I turned at a stop sign and glanced over at him, "That's awesome. I'm happy for you, Jer. Really turning your life back around." I pulled out front of the house but didn't park. He looked over at me confused, "I'm meeting the girls somewhere. I'll be home later. Get started on that research." He grinned before climbing out of the car. I watched as he walked into the house. I looked down at my phone and saw a text message from Elena.

_Meet us at the old Fell's Church, by the cemetery. _

* * *

I ran through the wooded area to the Church. I could see fire, meaning Bonnie had to be there. There was a loud spark and Damon's voice followed in a desperate scream. I saw Elena with Stefan. The flames burned out and Bonnie started to come back to her senses. She looked around at all of us confused, but Damon flashed towards her angrily. He bit her neck and started to drain all of the blood from her body. "Bonnie," Elena and I shouted in unison. Stefan pulled Damon off of her and her limp body fell to the ground casting her unconscious.

Stefan pressed his ear to her chest, "She's alive, but barely. I can save her." He bit into the inside of his wrist and brought the blood to her lips, allowing her to drink his blood. Elena looked over at Damon angrily before turning away. She ran to Bonnie's side and kneeled down beside her, but I stayed behind next to Damon.

Elena exhaled when Bonnie's eyes fluttered open, "Her neck. It's healing." I sighed in relief and rubbed my forehead with my hand. She looked towards me, "Do you have the car? Can you drive her home?" I threw the keys and she caught them in one hand, "Malina."

I stared at Damon. He looked hurt and upset, I wanted to help him. "You drive her home. I'm going to stay."

She stood up straight and glared at Damon, "Are you sure? I know you think he's different but he just proved himself again. I don't want you getting hurt."

Stefan intercepted, "She won't. I'll make sure of it."

Damon looked down towards the ground, not conjuring up one of his cocky comments. I looked towards Elena, "I can take care of myself." I insisted, "And either way, I trust him." Elena rolled her eyes before pulling Bonnie away from there.

Damon sat down on a fallen tree and I sat down beside him. I took his hand in my own. I've never known Damon to have a weakness. He was strong, manipulative. He was evil. But behind that façade, there was a human buried deep inside. Someone who had feelings. Someone who was vulnerable, especially when it came to Katherine. "Katherine never compelled me. I knew everything, every step of the way." His voice was strange, drained. Not laced with his usual shot of venom. "It was real for me."

I squeezed his hand and he kept staring blankly at nothing. The leaves scattered on the autumn ground. I was glad he was talking about Katherine. I wanted to know more about her and now I was understanding how much of an impact she made on him. Stefan watched his older brother carefully, "I'll leave now."

I shook my head, "No, Damon. You can't just leave." I looked up at Stefan. "Hey Steffy," I used Damon's nickname in an attempt to lighten the mood. "Could we have some time to talk," I looked back to Damon slowly, "Alone."

Stefan obeyed and vanished before my eyes, wandering his way over to where Elena and Bonnie probably were. I turned on the tree so I was facing him and I ran my fingers through his dark hair. "Talk to me," I pleaded.

He swallowed, "There's nothing to talk about." He snapped him mouth shut, still staring at the ground. I've never seen him so focused. He was quiet for almost a minute until he spoke again. "I was supposed to save her. I was supposed to protect her and I failed. I won't fail anyone else, so I have to leave."

I pulled his chin to look at me, "Hey. You won't fail anyone. You won't fail me. I can take care of myself. It's not your job to protect me."

He stammered, "Yes it is. It is my job. There are things you still don't know."

"Then tell me."

"I can't!" He shouted a little too loudly and I flinched away from him. "I can't," He repeated calmer and I closed my eyes. I felt him shift away from me so I looked up at him. He stood up from the tree, "I'm going to leave tonight."

I shook my head and stood up, following in pursuit. "No, Damon. Don't leave, please don't leave me."

He gave me a small smile, a genuine one. It reached his eyes but then the passion died down quicker then it appeared. He took a step forward and kissed my forehead. I exhaled, tears threatening to fall so I forced my eyes closed. His lips lingered against my forehead for a few seconds before he pulled away and whispered, "Goodbye, Malina Gilbert." When I opened my eyes, he was gone.


	10. Chapter Ten

**_You'll never know how to make it on your own and you'll never show weakness for letting go.  
I guess you're still hurt, if this is over; do you really wanna be alone?  
If you're pretending from the start, like this, with a tight grip,  
Then my kiss can mend your broken heart, I might miss everything you said to me.  
And I can give you broken parts that might fit like this.  
And I will give you all my heart, so can we start it all over again?_**

**Chapter Ten – Over Again**

Dear Diary,

I haven't wrote in months, but I haven't felt like the same person in months. I feel like I am an outsider of my own body, staring through the pores of my skin. This isn't who I wanted to be. It's not who I am. Who am I? I'm Malina Gilbert – betrayer of all whom I love, sleaze between two best friends, runner with the vampires, horrible friend of a witch, and a terrible twin sister.

I've made all the wrong choices. I've given into the temptations of the darkness around me. I've let the darkness consume me. But the thing is, I'm okay with it.

Damon Salvatore cut into the darkest parts of me, but he swallowed me whole. I'm intrigued by him. His dashing good looks, wicked smile, and venomous personality. He's poisoned me. He's all I ever think about and now he's gone. He left Mystic Falls last night, and I am not okay. I think I am falling in love with him.

* * *

I walked out of the house with Elena following behind me quickly. Her pace was slow and sluggish. "So how are you holding up about Stefan?" She kept her eyes glued to the pavement. I sucked in a long breath, the cold air snipping at my nose. "I'm sorry for bring it up."

She shook her head and let her palms hit the side of her thighs, "He knows where I stand in our relationship. I decided to stop asking him questions. He wouldn't give me any answers anyway. How are you about Damon?"

I bit the inside of my cheek, _I'm horrible._ "Fine, moving forward." I decided to lie, I didn't need her pestering the truth out of me. "I'm not going to let some guy dictate my life."

She grinned, "Good. Exactly what I wanted to hear. I thought you might say you were devastated and had major feelings for him. Yuck," She gagged and made a barf face. I forced a laugh out of myself, but she didn't see through the façade.

I shook my head and we turned the corner and towards the building of our school. I stuffed my hands into my pockets, "No. Of course not."

* * *

I stood with Tyler and a couple of his football friends by his locker. He was shoving his books into his locker and I pulled at my ponytail. Matt and Caroline walked by, flirting and laughing. Caroline touched his arm playfully and looked over towards me. She flashed a thankful smile at me and I waved back at her. Tyler followed them down the hallway with his eyes until they ducked into their classroom and he turned to me. He gave me a confused look, "Wait. You know about this?"

I turned to look at him and his friends walked away, leaving us alone. I shrugged my shoulders, "He was there for her the other night. I guess she finally had the balls to tell him how she felt. Well, after I practically had to force the truth out of her."

He raised his eyebrows, "And you're okay with it?"

I turned around completely to face him, "Yes. We had a minor fling, he's my best friend. If Caroline likes him, I'm not going to hold her back from her feelings. She deserves something good in her life." I smiled a little.

He grinned, "Look at that. Optimistic and a smile out of you before 8 a.m.? Someone take a picture, we don't get to see this very often anymore." The bell rang loudly through the building and everyone began to close their lockers and disperse from their friends.

I punched his arm as we began to walk down the hallway to our classrooms, "Shut up, Ty. I'll kick your ass and you know I can."

He shrugged lightly, "You know maybe you used to be able to kick my ass. But I'm a lot stronger now, like five times stronger. Pretty hard to beat now."

I rolled my eyes, "That's what they all say, darling." I winked at him before ducking into my history class. Matt stared at me as I smiled all the way to the desk beside him. "Hey, Matthew."

"What's got you so chipper?" He raised an eyebrow and looked out the door where Tyler was still standing. His back was turned away from us as he waited for his other friends to catch up to him. Matt turned back to me and narrowed his eyes, "Is that smile because of Tyler?"

I smacked his arm, "Even if it was. I wouldn't tell you. But fine, perhaps it is. Sue me," I teased and he placed his chin in his hand. "What?"

He shrugged, "Why the sudden change of heart with Tyler? I thought you were all about Damon?"

"Uh-uh, we are not turning this conversation into Damon." He sharpened his eyes on mine and I sighed heavily, "He left town last night." I spazzed my hand out in front of me before trying to calm down and folding my arms in front of me on the desk. "I'm not letting him tie me down. Tyler makes me laugh and feel good. I want to see where things go."

He nodded, "You've both changed now. Do you really believe you'll be able to let things go back to normal?"

"Don't rain on my parade, you have your little blonde Barbie around your finger. My turn to fix my relationships."

* * *

I ran up to where Tyler and Matt were playing basketball together on the court outside. I wrapped my hands around Tyler's eyes and he turned around to look at me, "What are we talking about over here, fellas?"

I took the basketball out of Tyler's hands and he shook his head as I began to dribble. "Talking about Donovan's little crush on Caroline. They are about to become we-people." Matt stared at him in confusion, "We-people?"

Tyler switched courts with Matt and I tossed him the ball. "Yeah, _we_ can't make to the party. _We'll_ never miss a game." I joined in and we both tilted our heads to the side to look at each other, "_We _don't like the color red." He started laughing and slumped his arm around my shoulders.

Matt threw the ball and it went in easily, "We hung out like twice." He stared at us, arm in arm, and jerked his head to the side. "What's going on with the two of you?"

I looked up at Tyler, "We already were we-people. It's always going to be a thing."

Matt shook his head handing me the ball, "Not what I meant."

I passed Tyler the ball, "Tyler. Since Matt is hovering us, I have a question for you. Would you neglect to go on a date tonight at the Grill, let's say 7 o'clock?"

He walked over to me, "Is this actually you asking or because Matt is pestering you?"

I glared at him, "Me. You dip-shit!"

He bounced the ball off of the top of my head and I sucked in a breath. "Keep calling me names and I might have to decline your offer." I crossed my arms, "Of course, Mali."

Matt scoffed, "I feel like I just witnessed my parents getting back together." Tyler chucked the ball at Matt, but he caught it easily. "Just saying. We should probably get ready for the Career Fair soon, though."

I bit my lip, "About that. I don't think I'm going this year. I already know what I want to be."

Tyler scratched the back of his neck, "Yeah. I have no idea, so I'll definitely be going with you Matt."

I nudged Matt's arm, "You still wanna be an astronaut? So you can eat outer space food."

He shook his head, "I was eight when I told you that."

Tyler joined in, "Mali, do you still want to become Hannah Montana? I remember all those horrible dance moves you used to impersonate. And the singing, I'll never be able to forget the singing." He shook his head at the thought.

"Shut up, I was a great singer and dancer!" I sighed, "You know what. I'm going to go with you then we can just go to the Grill right after."

Matt laughed as he took a backwards step, "You know. Now I think I'm understanding this whole we-people thing."

* * *

I spotted Tyler from down the hallway so I made my way over to him as quietly as possible. I walked behind Tyler and trailed my hands down his back. He turned around and pulled me into a hug, "Hey." He scanned me with his eyes, "You look great."

I smiled, "So do you."

We walked over to the art section and started skimming through them. I noticed one with his name on it and slammed my hand on it, stopping him. "I forgot you took art as an elective this year. This is really good, Ty."

He ran his fingers along it. "Thank you."

I walked to another table and he stayed behind, continuing to flip through the pictures. I watched as Jeremy walked over to him and kept a keen eye on the encounter from a distance. Jeremy said something that pissed Tyler off and he stormed away. I groaned and walked over to Jeremy, "What did you say to him?"

He stared at the drawing that he did, "I didn't know he drew. Wait, why are you defending him? Please don't tell me you're getting back with the jerk."

I folded my arms, "Even if I was, it's none of your business, Jer." I walked away from him and caught up with Tyler, "Hey! Wait up!"

He slowed down and wiped his mouth, "I'm trying to be nice to him. I am, but it's so hard."

I placed my hand on his shoulder, "He's a punk. I know, but he's been doing a lot better. He's changing his life around. He's doing homework, going to school, not drinking or doing drugs. He even started sketching again. I'm proud of him."

He walked over to another table and we started looking through pamphlets. "So any plans for college now?"

I shrugged, "I don't think Yale will be an option anymore. My grades were spiraling. I think Whitmore might be a good option. It's not too far and it's a good school."

He nodded, "Yeah. Yale just doesn't seem right anymore. Neither does becoming a doctor. I don't know what I want to do."

"How did our lives get so off track in only a few months? We had everything planned out."

He laughed when I said _we_ again. "We-people. We are constant we-people. Even when I don't try to, I say it accidentally."

Mr. Saltzman walked over to our table and I looked up and smiled, "Nice to see you, Ric."

He grinned back, "How are you, Malina?"

I looked over at Tyler, "I'm good. Happy not to be sitting in history." I scrunched my face up. "Not that I don't enjoy your class, Mr. Saltzman. I'm going to stop talking." I snapped my mouth shut and he laughed lightly. Tyler placed his hand on my back, "This is my boy-I mean, my friend. This is Tyler Lockwood," I corrected myself quickly.

He shook Tyler's hand, "Complicated past, I'm guessing?"

Tyler shook his head, "You don't know the half of it." He whispered in my ear, "I have to go to the bathroom. I'll be right back."

He walked away from us and towards the bathrooms and I looked up at Alaric. He stared at the pamphlet in my hand, "You want to go to Whitmore?"

I looked up at him, "Originally Yale. But I let my grades slip up after my parents passing then the first few months haven't been my finest moments."

He nodded, "What do you want to be?"

"A writer," I answered quickly. I've always wanted to be a write. Well, I mean I guess after my whole Hannah Montana stage. It was something Elena and I shared with our mother. A writer's bond. She would take us to the library for hours after school. Buy us all sorts of books, notepads, anything we needed. That's why I started my journal. I turned my attention back to Alaric, "I just really like writing. Fiction is my favorite, the supernatural world and everything."

He grinned, "That's why I love being a history teacher. I love the raw history of towns. This town has a lot more than the ones I've been to before. I'm looking forward to learning about it all."

I heard lockers slamming and turned my head to see the Mayor rushing over to two boys fighting against the lockers. Surely enough, Tyler and Jeremy. Alaric ran over to them to help pull them apart. I followed, "Jeremy! Tyler! Stop it!"

They got pulled apart and Alaric pushed Jeremy against the lockers on the other side of the hall. Alaric pressed Jeremy's chest, "Alight, walk it off, tough guy."

The Mayor had Tyler in his grip and looked over to Jeremy, "You two. Follow me," He pushed Tyler in front of him towards the closest exit. Jeremy sighed before following him, but I tried to grab him arm to stop him.

I went to follow them, but Alaric held me back, "Excuse me, Mayor." Tyler turned around to look over at me I narrowed my eyes on his and placed my hands on my hips. "Where are you taking them?"

Mayor furrowed his eyebrows together, "I'm gonna talk to them. All fights should end in a handshake. Don't you think?" Alaric looked over at me and I motioned to walk off to the side. "The Mayor is Tyler's father. He's really harsh on him. I don't think we should leave them alone."

Alaric nodded, "I won't let anything happen to either of them."

We followed them outside, "So let's settle it. Fight," Mr. Lockwood demanded and I rushed behind Alaric. Tyler shook his head, "No dad."

"Yeah, it's not going to happen," Jeremy joined in.

Tyler went to walk away from them, but his dad grabbed him by the front of his shirt. "I said fight!" He pushed him into Jeremy as hard as he could and they both stumbled.

I ran forward, "Tyler!"

"Whoa, what's going on out here?" Alaric asked and Jeremy helped Tyler catch his balance. Tyler stepped away from him and signaled for me to stay back with his eyes. Mayor Lockwood turned to face him, "Just letting these two kids work it out." He noticed me beside Alaric and chuckled, Malina. Should've known it was you." Alaric stepped forward but the Mayor barked, "We're good here. Go back inside."

Ric shook his head, "I don't wanna go back inside. What I want is an answer to my question. What's going on out here?"

"Who do you think you're talking to? Do I look like a student?"

Alaric shook his head, "No. You look like a full grown alpha-male douche bag." Tyler's lips pursed to hold back a chuckle and mine and Jeremy's jaw dropped simultaneously. Jeremy let out a light laugh.

The Mayor stepped forward, "You don't talk to me like that. I could have your job like this," He snapped his fingers together. Mr. Saltzman started laughing to himself, "Oh, you do that. Then it will be you and me in this parking lot, working things out. You cool with that?" He pulled his eyebrows together.

"Just watch yourself."

Alaric nodded his head condescendingly, "Okay."

Mayor turned towards Tyler telling him to start walking towards the car, but I spoke up. "Tyler, we still have our date. I hope you don't mind if I keep him out past curfew, Mayor." I batted my eyelashes and he rolled his eyes before storming away. I touched Tyler's face lightly, "Hey. Are you okay?"

He turned to Alaric, "Thank you. No one has ever stood up to him like that before. It was," He let out a small sigh, "Pretty cool."

Alaric nodded, "I don't like bullies." He turned towards Jeremy, "I'll walk you back inside, buddy." They disappeared and I turned back to Tyler. I spun in front of him, "Are you sure you're okay?"

He rolled his eyes, "For the millionth time, yes."

I fixed the front of his jacket and smoothed it out. "I know he's a dick. But tonight was worse. Has he been like this a lot recently?"

He took a step away from me, "I don't need your pity, Malina. So if that's what this is going to be, maybe we should just end it here."

I ran my hand through my hair, "That's not what this is Tyler. I care about you." I touched his jaw with my fingers but he pulled away, "What's wrong?"

"I think you should go," I tried to make him look at me. He pulled away angrily and shouted in my face, "Just go!"

I jumped back from the power in his voice and winced. He stared at me coldly and I took a deep breath, "Guess the tables have turned. Now who's shutting who out?"

I stumbled backwards and walked away, on my way back into the building I passed Jeremy who was coming outside. He gave me a small smile and started to walk in Tyler's direction. I walked over to Aunt Jenna who was talking to Alaric. I tugged on her arm, "I hate to bother you. But could I have the car, I need to go home."

She pulled me to the side, "What's wrong?"

I shook my head, "I had a fight with Tyler. It's a long story, but I promise I will explain everything to you tomorrow. I really just wanna go home and sleep." My voice was shaking and I didn't know where it was coming from. My fight with Tyler, or was what happened last night still affecting me?

She handed me the car keys and rubbed my arm, "Be safe. I'll ask Alaric for a ride home."

I started the car and blew out a long breath. I need to get my mind off of things. Not only did I lose Damon, but Tyler. I lost everyone I cared about in a matter of three days. I started engine and drove down the street. I didn't know where I was driving to, but I couldn't go home. I didn't want to go home.

I turned down a street, moving in the direction of the cemetery. I picked up speed on an empty road, leaving a trail of dust from the dirt. A few street lamps lit the road up, but it was one of the darker roads. _Lithium_ from Nirvana came on the radio so I turned it up completely, drowning out the world.

"I like you, I'm not gonna crack!" I screamed at the top of my lungs, shouting the lyrics out of the open windows and into the night sky. "I miss you, I'm not gonna crack. I love you, I'm not gonna crack. I killed you, I'm not gonna crack."

I pressed on the accelerator harder and harder, drowning away everything that's happened around me. I looked up for a millisecond at the full moon as it grew closer to the car. I turned my attention back to the road, but it was too late. A man was standing directly in my way, completely still. I tried to swerve out of the way, but I lost control of the SUV and it flipped over. I could feel the metal crushing around me and the car repeatedly rolled until it came to a complete stop. I hung upside down and could feel blood dripping from the side of my head.

I didn't know where I hit my head, but my vision began to get blurry. Everything began to fade out and I was losing consciousness. Whenever I planned how I would die, it was never like this. I realized something. I didn't want to die, I needed to survive.

I felt two arms wrap around my body until I fell out of consciousness.

* * *

_Author's Note:_

_Bum bum bum. Leave your reviews and thank you very much for reading! :)_


	11. Chapter Eleven

_Author's Note:_

_I left quite the cliffhanger at the end, so if you want the next chapter be sure to leave some reviews ;)_

_Enjoy!_

* * *

**_And I don't want the world to see me  
'Cause I don't think that they'd understand.  
When everything's meant to be broken,  
I just want you to know who I am._**

**Chapter Eleven – Turning Tides**

I fluttered my eyes open slowly, my head was leaning against the cool interior of the car. The sun was radiating into the car, covering my eyes. I didn't know where I was or how I got here. I turned around to look at who was driving, _Damon._

I shook my head and wiped my eyes, I must be hallucinating.

He glanced over and had a grin on his face, "Welcome back to the world of consciousness."

"Damon?"

He smirked as his eyes flicked over to mine, but refocused on the road. I had no idea where he was driving, but it was definitely not Mystic Falls anymore. There was a vast field on my right and I stared over at it. "Surprise!" He chimed, "I didn't actually leave yet."

I snapped at him, "And you didn't think to tell me?"

He inspected my head, "How's your head?"

_My head. That's right, I hit my head. _"This is a dream. This isn't real. I'm gonna wake up and you will be gone." I tightened my eyes but when I reopened them he was still sitting beside me, speeding down the unknown road.

He ignored me, "How's your head, Malina?"

I touched my head, there was no more wound. I distinctly remembered hitting my head. There was so much blood, I passed out. There was dry blood staining my fingers and stuck in my hair, "Where are you taking me?" He stayed completely quiet and flicked the radio on, but I turned it off immediately. "Pull over, Damon. Let me out of the car."

He bulged his eyes at me, "No."

I grabbed the steering wheel with my hand and tried to pull over to the side of the road but he grabbed my hand in his. He squeezed my bones in my hand together and I gasped out before letting go. I yanked my hand back to my chest and frowned. "Great. I gave my blood to a suicidal lunatic."

I crossed my arms across my chest and leaned my head back against the headrest, "I'm not going to kill myself."

He placed his hand under my chin so I would look over at him, but he kept his eyes on the road. "Oh yeah? You want to become a vampire and now you have the correct tools to do it. How else did you think about going through with it?"

I turned away from him and stared at the window, "I want to go home."

"Why were you out driving by yourself, Malina?"

I dug my nails into my palm, "I didn't want to go home. I was pissed at Tyler and mad about your departure. I wanted to drive until my head was clear. But that man, he just showed up out of nowhere in front of me. He-he, he got up but I hit him. Was he a vampire?"

Damon tilted his head to the side, "Yeah. I guess he was. I don't know who he could have been, but he had to be. I was out by the Old Fell's Church when I heard the crash. I had to save you."

I touched my necklace around my neck, "Why did you leave, Damon? Or supposedly leave. Why couldn't you tell me that you didn't leave yet? You hid the truth from me." We passed a sign and my jaw dropped, "_You are now entering Georgia". _I sat up in my seat, "Where the hell are we going, Damon? Georgia?!"

He snickered, "Calm down, Malina. It's no big deal."

"No big deal? I need to go home, no one knows where I am!" I yelled frantically and he tightened his jaw. "Turn around, Damon. Take me home, right now." He turned the radio on and I threw myself back against the seat. I folded my arms and glared out the window for the rest of the ride. I knew he wouldn't listen to me.

He pulled into a parking lot where there was an isolated bar, _typical._ He opened his door and jumped out, I hesitated before following his lead. I folded my arms across my chest and looked up at the broken down sign. This place looked like it has been around for decades, but knowing Damon – it probably has.

I scurried behind him when I heard my phone begin to ring. I patted myself down but I couldn't find it anywhere. That's when I noticed where the sound was coming from. "That's my phone. Damon, why do you have my phone?" He pulled it out of his pocket and looked at it momentarily. He went to turn it off when I grabbed his arm, "Let me at least talk to Elena. If you let me do that, I'll agree to whatever you brought me here for?"

He rolled his eyes before handing me the phone and walking towards the bar. I took a deep breath and pressed the answer button, "You have two minutes!" He called behind him as the door closed.

I held the phone to my ear, "Hey Elena."

"Malina, where the hell are you? You never came home last night," She sounded worried. But also more than that, afraid. "Listen, we need to talk about something."

I cleared my throat, "I'm in Georgia with Damon. He brought me with him. He didn't actually leave yet, but I'm thinking you already knew that." I sounded angry, I was. "Why didn't you tell me?" I interrogated my twin sister.

She avoided my question. "It's about Katherine."

"Why didn't you tell me that Damon and Stefan didn't leave yet, Lena? Don't ignore my questioned. I deserve some answers around here."

She snapped back, "You're not the only one who deserves answers. So would you please let me explain why I called you?" I stayed silent, allowing her to continue. "I was over Stefan's last night and I found something."

"Go on," I turned my back away from the bar.

I leaned the palm of my hand against Damon's car, "I don't know how it's possible. Katherine is-She look-" Before she could finish the statement, Damon snatched the phone out of my hand. I turned around to scold him, "Hey! What the hell was that for?"

He shrugged and placed the phone back into his pocket. "I told you two minutes. Your time was up. I'm sorry, was it something important?"

I glared at him, "Yeah. Actually it was. I was finally going to learn something about Katherine. Something that you are probably hiding from me. I'm going to find out sooner or later, care to enlighten me?" I folded my arms across my chest.

He shook his head and grabbed my arm, pulling me towards the bar. "I think it's about time you meet some people I used to know." We walked into the bar and an older woman was serving drinks. She noticed us and smiled, clapping her hands together at the sight of Damon. He turned his head towards me, "Meet Bree."

She hopped over the bar counter and extended her arms in front of her. "Damon!" Damon smiled and she pulled him into her. She pressed her lips to his and I puckered my lips sourly. They pulled away after a few seconds and she turned towards me, "Hello, pretty doll."

Damon wrapped his arm around my shoulders and pulled me closer to him, "This is Malina."

She pulled me into a hug and I reluctantly hugged her back. "Come on, sit down! Let me get you both some drinks."

She took a line of shot glasses and began to pour liquor in all of them. "Listen up, everybody! Here's to the man that broke my heart, crushed my soul, destroyed my life, and ruined any and all chances of happiness. Drink up!" She toasted and we all picked up our shot glasses and they all threw them back. I looked over at Damon and he widened his eyes at me so I threw my shot back, as well. She turned towards me, "So how'd he rope you in?" I chuckled lightly and she poured another shot for me. "Come on. How long have you two been together?"

I shook my head and looked at Damon for a second, "Oh no. We're not, it's not l-"

"She wishes though," Damon intervened.

I darted a dirty look in his direction and he smiled triumphantly. He placed his arm on the back of my chair, but I leaned forward. "So how'd you two meet?" I asked.

She glanced at Damon, "About twenty years ago, when I was a freshman in college. I met a beautiful man and I fell in love. He told me about his little secret, made me love him even more. Cause you see, I had a little secret of my own that I was dying to share with somebody."

Damon leaned towards me and whispered in my ear, "She's a witch."

She smiled at him, "You changed my world, you know."

Damon smirked, "I rocked your world."

Bree turned back to me, "He is good in the sack, isn't he?" My eyes grew wide and I threw the next shot back. She laughed, "Ah, now I see. Unresolved feelings. Nothing a road trip can't fix." She turned around and placed the bottle back down before returning to look at us. "So what is it that you want?"

I strummed my fingers along the counter and let out a quick breath. "I'll let you two talk. I need to use the ladies' room anyway." They both nodded and I walked away towards the bathroom.

When I came back out, Damon had two plates of food for us. I grinned and made my way towards him, "You know the way to my heart. I'm starving!"

I sat down beside him and he took a swig of his beer, I picked up a fry and stuffed it in my mouth quickly. He watched me and I raised an eyebrow, "You weren't kidding. It's like you haven't eaten in days, like a wild animal." I rolled my eyes and kept eating my fries.

"Let's play a game. I ask you a question and you need to answer a hundred percent honest. Then so on, so forth." He nodded and Bree set down two beers in front of us. I smirked and opened my bottle before taking a sip, "Yes. Now this is what I'm talking about."

He ate a piece of his chicken tender, "You go first."

I turned in my seat to face him, inspecting him as he ate his chicken. "If you're supposed to be dead. How come you can eat and everything?'

He looked amused, "As long as we maintain a healthy diet _of blood_ our body functions pretty normally. Now my question for you, Miss Gilbert. How come you actually seem to be enjoying yourself? I don't believe I've ever seen you quite this happy before."

I shrugged, "I don't know. I feel free when I'm around you. I was so used to being caged to what was normal to me, but now I can do anything I want. I want to do everything that I can imagine." He eyes locked on mine, "How come we're here, Damon?"

He looked away quickly, "I wanted to get away."

"I said I wanted the truth," I demanded. He didn't look up. "Why can't you tell me these things? It's like you put up all these walls but I can never break through them. I'm not going to judge you. I've accepted that you are a vampire. But you keep so much from me. First Katherine, now this. I feel like I won't be able to ever trust you. I don't just want to end up as one of the girl's whose lives you've destroyed."

He took a large gulp of his beer before answering. "Then you signed up for the wrong business."

"See! This is what I'm talking about. You answer vaguely. You can never look me in the eyes and tell me the truth. You can trust me!" I shouted and he kept staring at the table. "Damon," I pulled his chin so he would look at me. "Please, talk to me."

He licked his lips, "There's another way to bring Katherine back." I bulged my eyes out. "Well not definitely, but I'm working on it."

I placed my chin in my palm, "And you wanted Bree's help which explains why we're here. But why did you bring me?"

He pulled his eyebrows together, "Hey. Isn't it my turn?" I shot his a glare and he let out a breath, "A minor moment of weakness." I let a smile tug on the corners of my lips, "I needed to make sure you were okay. Also, didn't try anything stupid and try to kill yourself."

I shook my head, "I would never kill myself." He glanced over at me and gave me a serious look. As though he was staring straight through me. It was like he could see every single dark thought I've ever concocted in my mind. I sighed, "Fine. I've thought about it before, but I'm better now. At least, I'm trying to be."

He took my hand in his and squeezed it gently, "You are strong. I like that about you. When things get tough, you don't back down – you push harder. I'll tell you everything you want to know about Katherine. I want you to be able to trust me."

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. This was my time to ask him all the questions I've wanted answers to for weeks. But I couldn't think of a single one. "She was the love of your life," I breathed out. He nodded, "How did you get over her?"

He touched my necklace lightly, "I guess I never fully did. I buried her deep in my mind. For decades, I did horrible things. I'm not a good person."

"I don't expect you to be," I leaned forward and brushed my lips against his for a moment.

He smiled, "She was beautiful and full of light. She had this laugh, it was contagious. She was gentle, but cruel. I just got back from the war when I met her. She made all my time fighting for my life feel worthwhile." He paused for a moment and I fixed how I was sitting. "She meant the world to me."

I nodded, "A true devil in disguise."

He bit his bottom lip before pulling out my phone from his pocket. "Elena has been calling and texting nonstop. I want to show you something, but you might not react all that well."

I furrowed my eyebrows together, "What are you talking about?"

"She was going to tell you something earlier, but she never got to it because I stole the phone. I didn't think you were ready, but you are now." I looked down at the phone that was still locked. "She was going to tell you something about Katherine and I'm not sure how it's possible. It makes absolutely no sense to me." He held out the phone and I stared down at the picture.

There was a girl staring back at me, but I knew those features all too well. She looked exactly like me, identical. Her dark brown hair curled and her same high cheekbones. _Katherine Pierce – 1864. _I let my jaw fall open slowly, "H-how? Why do I look like her?"

He shrugged his shoulders, trying to remain as close as possible to me. "I wish I knew that answer. Katherine must have had a child before she was turned."

I looked up at him, "You knew this entire time that I looked like her. Is that why you went after me? So I could fill in for your Katherine addiction?"

I pushed myself out of my seat and stood up straight, "Malina. Do not freak out."

I laughed frantically, "Well it's too late for that! You knew I looked like Katherine the whole time. You were using me to get your weird, creepy fix!" I took a step backwards but he tried to reach for my arm, but he missed. "I need to get out of here."

I ran outside of the bar and placed my hands on my face. I started to rub my forehead with my fingers. _I looked like Katherine._ I tangled my fingers in my hair and took a deep breath. I couldn't freak out. I needed to remain calm. I shook my head and kicked a trash can.

I felt two hands wrap around me, one covering my mouth so I couldn't scream and one over my eyes. He dragged me away with him and I tried to kick free but it was useless. He pulled me on top of the bell towards and jumped down. He was a vampire. He didn't look up towards me, "What do you want from me?"

He crossed his arms and kept staring down the alleyway. He was waiting for Damon. I heard another trail of footsteps and Damon came into view, "Malina?"

I shouted his name, but before he could hear me, the vampire attacked him. He started to hit him repeatedly with a baseball bat then threw him on the ground. I started shaking and looked over to see a ladder. I started to climb down it as quickly as possible. The man started pouring gasoline all over him, "No!" He turned around to look at me, black veins under his eyes and flashing his fangs.

Damon choked out, his voice husky, "Who are you?"

The man laughed, "That's perfect. You have no idea."

"What are you talking about?" I questioned, "What did he do?"

The man looked down at him, "He killed my girlfriend." We were all silent for a few moments then he started to pour more gasoline on him. "What did she do to you, huh?" He asked calmly, but grew angrier. ""What did she do to you?!"

Damon leaned his head back against the pavement, "Nothing."

I took a step forward, "I don't understand."

He turned around to look at me and I halted in place. He looked upset. Distraught. "My girlfriend went to visit Stefan, and Damon killed her. Got it?"

He turned back around and hit Damon with the baseball bat one more time. I breathed out, "Lexi. Lexi was your girlfriend?"

He turned to look at me, "And he took her away from me."

He let a match and held it over Damon so I ran forward, pushing him out of the way. He got angry and grabbed me by the neck and pushed me against the closest wall. It was enough time to let Damon get up on his feet. The man squeezed my throat tighter and I choked out, "You are better than this. You don't have to do this. Lexi wouldn't want that."

He shook his head, "You don't know what Lexi would want. She wouldn't want to be dead. She loved her life, she loved me. But now I'll never see her again. Damon will only do the same thing to you. Use you until your time is up, then kill you. Maybe I should just speed up the process."

Damon stepped forward, "Don't do this."

"You took away my girl, it's my turn to take away yours." I tried to pull him off of me, but he wasn't budging. He leaned closer, I could smell the alcohol that was radiating off of his breath. His eyes looked crazed. He whispered in my ear, "Say goodbye."

I stared at Damon, terrified.

I opened my mouth to speak, "Day-" I was cut off my the sound of a snap as everything went black.


End file.
